Redeemer
by Kos-Mos607
Summary: AU ending, Pax and Josh were able to escape the E.H. factory with their lives. Now they find themselves on the run and being hunted by the very same company and it's many members. [Slash alert, see full warnings inside.]
1. Chapter 1

This is something that I came up with recently. Obviously, I'm working off of a complete AU ending that I made up because Josh is alive, which means that Pax didn't see his body at all when he was inside the factory thingy. And I want to make one thing perfectly clear, yes Hostel was a gory movie but my fic here won't be half as bad as the movie was, I promise. Now before you start reading my work, I advise you to read the warnings below VERY throughly because I won't be tolerating any shit from ignorant people who were too dumb to read them.

**WARNING:** Story contains violence, slash (Man on man relations), mentions of rape, spelling errors done by a college student and swearing. If any of those gives you the wiggles, don't read. Flames will be ignored, mocked, and exploited by my many fans. Now that we have all of that crap out of the way, happy reading and I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter one**

The barrel of the gun was still smoking as it fell from his trembling fingers and clattered against the cold stone floor. He just killed man. He just killed – no, not a man but a monster. He just killed a monster, the monster that was hurting him. The monster that cut his fingers off.

Paxton swallowed deeply. His hands where still shaking, his left hand throbbed painfully and more tears started developing inside of his eyes. Ignoring the pain, he reached for the gun, dropping it a few times due to his shaking hand and straightened his chair. He pulled the silver barrel back and waited for the click of the bullet entering the chamber to sound.

He wasn't safe yet, there was still a guard outside the door.

He held the glock tightly to his chest and cleared his throat. He could do this, the man outside the door was another monster, he was one of them men that dragged him in here. If he was going to make it out of here he couldn't afford to be hesitant.

He regained his nerve and called out to the guard, his fingers wound tightly around the glock's handle. A small moment later, he heard the door open and forced himself to remain perfectly still. He could do this, he could do it.

The guard moved into the ideal position behind him and he swallowed once more before turning around and firing the gun.

---------------------------

Paxton groaned as his left hand throbbed in pain from his severed fingers. His hand was covered with blood and unless he found a way to halt the bleeding he knew he'd pass out soon.

Slumping hard against the wall behind him, Paxton slowly stuck his out and peaked around the corner. When he saw the hallway was empty he sighed relieved and slowly stumbled his way towards the closed door at the end of it.

His blood covered fingers slipped easily on the door's brass handle but he eventually got his shaking fingers around the small handle and was able to turn it. The bright light inside of the room nearly blinded him as he slid into the room. He shielded his eyes in the crook of his arm until he felt ready to open them.

Thankfully, the room was empty. It looked like a break room, there were a few tables and chairs scattered around the room's length and a row of lockers near the room's large windows. Paxton wasted no time stumbling towards the lockers and ripping them open looking for anything useful.

When he pulled the first one open, a flash of movement from the window grabbed his attention and his eyes honestly refused to believe what they saw. The large window overlooked the factory's parking lot and the floor he was currently on wasn't that far from the ground so he didn't have any problems recognizing the two figures he was staring at, the problems was getting his brain to believe it.

One of the guards that drug him into the bloodied torture cell was talking to a member of the local police, not just any member, the officer he reported Josh and Oli's disappearance too. Disgust and anger mixed together inside his stomach and Pax quickly turned his attention away from the window.

The second locker he opened contained a small t-shirt which he immediately grabbed and tore strips off of and used to bandage his severed fingers. He was no doctor but he knew he should apply pressure to them to stop the bleeding. He found a black suit in the third one and decided to change into it. Just as he pulled the jacket off it's hanger a small white business card slid out of it's front pocket and landed softly on the stone floor. Hesitantly, Paxton bent down and picked it up.

_Elite Hunting_

(Oh god.)

Paxton swallowed deeply, his throat starting to feel raw. A hunting group, no fucking way? People don't do shit like this. He turned the card over and felt a small whimper escape his mouth.

_$5,000- Rus_

_10,000- Eur_

_25,000- Amr_

(No fucking way!)

The whole left side of his chest swelled with fear. This had to be a nightmare because there was no way reality was this twisted and sick. There was no way–

"What do you think?"

Pax jumped and immediately spun around. The sight behind him was more then enough to make him scream but he forced himself to hold it in. One of the tortures stood less then ten feet away from him with a puzzled expression on his face.

"So what do think, how do I look? I feel like a fucking butcher or a surgeon or some shit." The man shrugged and unsnapped his mask.

Paxton stared at him for a long moment, the fingers of his good hand tightening nervously. What the hell, this man was asking his opinion on his outfit?

"I feel so ridiculous in this thing but I guess you need it huh." The man mused as he approached the mirror a few feet away from him.

Paxton couldn't help his sigh of relief, the man didn't recognize him. He thought he was one of the tortures as well. Ducking his head, Paxton quietly walked behind him towards the door.

"Hey, wait a sec." The man grabbed his arm and Paxton couldn't help flinching. "How was it?"

Paxton stared at him fearfully for a long moment and then realized the man wanted him to say something.

"Um." He chocked a bit as he forced the words out of his mouth. "Um, good."

"Goddamn mother fucker, with money it should be." The man grinned evilly and went to retrieve his gloves from one of the small tables. "What did you go for, a local? European?"

"American." Pax stuttered, trying hard to keep his composure.

"American? Anit that a bitch, another big spender." The man boasted joyfully.

Paxton shuttered and bit his lip. He could get through this, he just needed to hold on for a little while longer.

"They have the same thing lined up for me, an American. A young one too I hear. They originally snagged him for some Dutch asshole to have fun with. Well he certainly had fun with him, I can tell you that much, but the dumb bastard paid all that money and he left him alive." The man laughed and shook his head. "Dumb bastard, oh well. One man's loss is another's gain."

Paxton's stomach did a full turn inside of his body. "What, what do you mean?"

The man finished his gloves and turned around, wearing a grin that nearly made Pax vomit.

"Well, they can't leave him alive now can they? They offered him to me for half of the price. I've been waiting a week for this shit man, women are one thing, but they're easy to break. I plan on having some fun with this one, I hear he's pretty too."

The man laughed again and pulled a silver glock out of it's holster around his waist and held it up proudly.

"I mean, I've been all over the world but this, this is different, this is something you'll never forget, am I right?"

Paxton started feeling light-headed. Oh god, just looking at this man him feel sick. He was talking about torturing someone like it was a drinking game.

"R–right. Never forget." He mumbled, disparity wanting to be away from this monster.

"Can I ask you something, personal, do you mind? How did you do it? Did you do real slow or did you just get it over with right away? That's why I asked for the gun, I just wanted to fucking do it quick but now, I–I just want to feel it, know what I mean?"

Bile started working its way up Pax's throat and he tried to swallow it down.

"Quick. Make it quick."

The man gave him another puzzled look before that horrid grin came back.

"Fuck that shit, it's too American. I'm doing it old school."

He wailed loudly and tossed the gun inside the laundry basket before he happily bounded towards the door. When the door closed behind him, Paxton immediately bolted for the sink on the far wall and empted what was left inside his stomach into it.

"Jesus." He wheezed and ran the tap to clean himself up a bit. "This place is fucked."

When his stomach settled he stumbled over towards the door and bent inside the laundry basket to retrieve the discarded glock. He checked the magazine, relieved to see all fifteen bullets where inside of it and tucked it inside his belt. The door creaked as it closed behind him but Pax paid it no mind and bolted for the staircase.

He was almost outside, he could tell from the faint breeze emitting from the door at the bottom. He pulled it open and took a few deep breaths of clean air before he resumed running. He crossed the walkway and bounded down more stairs and froze as his feet landed on the cobble stoned ground.

A loud, piercing scream tore from the old, rundown factory behind him and his stomach turned violently. That scream...that voice...it couldn't be.

(Josh?)

Fearfully, Pax turned around and stared at the building with a wary eye. There was no mistaking it, that was his friend's pain filled scream. He turned his head and gazed at the line of cars a few hundred feet away from him. He could make it, if he hurried. He could get help and bring them back here.

Another scream reached his ears and Pax felt himself whimper. Even if he went to get help, they wouldn't make it back in time. Josh could be dead by then.

He gazed at the parking lot for a long moment before he made up his mind. Not again. He wasn't going to let this happen again, this time he could actually do something instead of watching helplessly. Josh wasn't going to be like the little drowned girl that haunted him for years, not when he could prevent it.

Slowly he dug the glock out of his belt, readied it by sliding a bullet in it's chamber and turned around. There was a dangerous glint inside of his dark eyes as he pushed the door open and walked back into the hell he just escaped from.

(I'm coming Josh...just hang on for a bit longer...)

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Well what do y'all think. If you like, please, please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's part two. If there's any spelling goofs or whatever in here my bad y'all.

**Chapter 2**

The harsh yellow lights flickered on and off as Paxton slowly stepped down the hallway. The glock felt heavy in his hands as did the air inside his lungs. Josh was here somewhere, but where? Ever since he charged back in here Pax hadn't heard one single scream of Josh's and dread was slowly starting to creep into his heart.

What if Josh was already dead? He would've ran in here for nothing then. He could escape now if he was quick enough...

(No!)

Pax shook his head and tightened his grip on the gun. No, he wasn't leaving. Josh was in one of these rooms and he'd be damned if he was going to leave his friend to fate worse then death. Josh wouldn't leave him here if the roles where reversed, at least he kept telling himself that inside his head over and over again.

Josh would do the same for him...

He pasted an open doorway and peaked his head inside. The small torture cell was empty and freshly sprayed clean because the heavy small of blood and vomit still lingered in the air. He continued on his way, looking in all of the open doorways until he heard it; another pain filled scream.

This time, there was no mistaking it, it was Josh. He summoned his nerve and sped up his pace, keeping the glock positioned in front of him. The screaming grew louder and louder until he found himself outside of a closed steal door. Judging from the intensity of the noise, Josh was in there.

Not wasting anymore time, Pax straightened himself up and kicked the door open.

The room was dimly lit and the air with thick with the stench of blood and something musky that Pax couldn't name. A torturer stood at the far end of the room, his back turned towards the door as he used a fifthly, bloodstained rag to clean one of his tools. The sound of the door being jarred open grabbed his attention and Paxton barley had enough time to hide the weapon behind his back before he turned his head.

"Well, well, well, Mr. Big Spender. Did you have fun with your American then?"

Pax's eyes narrowed. He recognized that voice, it belong to man he ran into in the locker room. He fought the urge to growl and tightened his fingers around the handle gun. He really didn't like the way this sick fuck was staring at him, his face was twisted in a delighted grin as his fingers gently ran along the bloodied edge of a small scalpel.

A small whimper grabbed Pax's attention and he slowly moved his eyes towards the source. In the far corner of the room a figure was curled in a tight ball on the floor, nude and shaking. Paxton's stomach felt like it just dropped to the ground. Pale, blooded skin, thin, wavy blonde hair...

Oh god, it couldn't be...

(Josh!)

The man finished cleaning his tools and tossed the rag aside. His eyes followed Pax's gaze towards the corner and a dry chuckle came from his mouth.

"Like him? He's a damn good fuck I'll tell you that much. I can see now why that Dutch idiot paid so much for him in the first place. If you want your turn you're gonna have to wait buddy 'cause I think I'll have another go at 'em."

Paxton finally tore his gaze away from his wounded friend and glared at the man standing a few short feet away from him. He was smiling, that sick fuck was grinning at him the whole time he was talking about raping his friend and Paxton felt his anger rising.

The man gave him one more, stomach turning grin and started walking over towards Josh's crumbled body. The soft jingle of his belt undoing was more then enough to snap Paxton out of his trance and without a moment's hesitation, he raised his gun.

The man heard Paxton's intake of breath and turned around, eyeing the gun nervously.

"What the fuck? If you're in that much of a hurry to get off go a head. You don't need to get all defensive like a pussy and–"

Paxton roared obscenities as he squeezed the trigger and felt the gun kick back against his arm, sending three rounds right into the man's chest cavity. Across the room, Josh screamed from the sounds and curled himself into a tighter ball, shielding his face in the crook of his arm.

The man's lifeless body slumped towards the ground and Pax stared at it with cold eyes. His fingers were itching for another chance to send more lead points into the fucker's lifeless body but he resisted the temptation only because he knew he'd probably need every last bullet in the chamber to get out of this hell hole.

When his rage subsided, Paxton started across the room and dropped on the ground next to Josh.

"Josh? Josh can you here me?" He shouted frantically, raising a hand towards his friend's trembling shoulder.

Josh screamed once again when he felt someone touch him and he disparity tried to squirm away. Paxton's heart lurched painfully at the sight and he reached forward and grabbed Josh's arm.

"Josh stop it, it's me, Pax! It's okay, he's gone."

Josh was still struggling to get away from and screaming words like _"No"_ and _"Stop"_ repeatedly. Not knowing what else to do, Pax grabbed both of his arms and forcefully pulled the other man around until they were face to face.

"Josh it's me. Pax. It's Paxton!"

He shook the other American a few times and finally Josh stopped wailing and raised his head, his grey eyes slowly opening revealing blood shot veins and unshed tears in their depths.

"P-P-Pax?"

Paxton nodded. "It's me buddy. It's me. It's okay."

Another small whimper came from Josh's mouth as his

"Pax, y-you need to leave...get outa h–here before they f-find you."

Pax gaped at his best friend and shook his head. "What? No, I'm not leaving you here."

"J-just go... leave me and s-save yourself."

"Josh stop it! I'm not leaving you here." Paxton sternly replied as his slid the long overcoat off his shoulders and gently wrapped it around Josh's nude body.

He paused when his eyes noticed the collection of scars and gashes that covered Josh's arms and Paxton felt a growl bubble inside of his throat. Fearfully he moved his eyes down the rest Josh's body looking for more damage.

A pair of small round holes about a centimeter each where cut into Josh's chest and upon closer inspection Pac found more of them on Josh's arms, abdomen and upper thighs. There were a few small cuts along Josh's stomach accompanied by a handful of ugly dark-blue bruises but the most upsetting sight of all was the large stains of dried and fresh blood on the inside of Josh's thighs, their trail leading behind the curve of Josh's legs and out of sight.

Swallowing down the dark pool of rage that was clawing away at the inside of his throat, Pax finished buttoning up the jacket's front. It's length was barely enough to cover the majority of Josh's frame, it's hemline ending near his knees but Pax wasn't about ready to go scrounging around for something better.

"Can you stand?"

"I-I think s-so." Josh stuttered and tried to stand on his shaky legs.

Paxton helped him up, his heart flinching when Josh yelped as his hand pulled the skin on his thigh roughly, painfully stretching the hole of one of the round wounds and tearing the scab open. Fresh blood oozed out of the wound but not in a large amount so Paxton tried to ignore it as he held Josh upright.

His friend's large arms wound around his torso tightly and Paxton, realizing there was no possible way he could pry Josh's arms off of him, tried to center Josh's weight in-order for both of them to move quickly. He retrieved the gun from the floor where he left it, his fingers atomically curling around the silver handle and together the two of them stumbled towards the steel door.

Josh's harsh intake of breath made Paxton stop and turn towards his friend who was staring at the dead body of the torturer sprawled in the middle of the room. Fear welded up inside of Josh's eyes and his voice trembled.

"Pax, did you–"

"Don't look." Pax said softly and pulled Josh over towards the open doorway.

Josh did as his he was told and tore his eyes away from the sight, burring his face in Paxton's shoulder with a small whimper. When they reached the door, Pax poked his head in the hallway and waited until he was a hundred percent positive the cost was clear before he lead Josh into the hall.

Faint screams of pain could be heard in the distance, making Josh's arms grip him tighter but as difficult as it was, Paxton forced himself to block the screams out. He knew there was nothing he could do for those poor souls at the moment, true he could go charging back down the hall and use up the rest of his bullets on a few of the guards but what good would that do? He'd only end up defenseless and faced with even more armed sadists who'd drag him into another one of the torture rooms, only this time he wouldn't make it out alive.

And Josh... God only knew what would happen to the other American if those demented fucks got a hold of him again.

Pax violently shook his head to force those images away as the two of them neared the storage elevator and he tapped the call button. Josh sagged against him tiredly and Pax didn't need to look at the other's face to know his eyelids were dropping.

"Josh." Pax shook Josh's shoulder roughly. "Josh you need to stay awake. You need to stay conscious."

Josh mumbled a few unknown words and let his head sag against Pax's shoulder, his eyes sliding closed. Pax cursed quickly and slapped the button a few more times before the elevator dinged and the doors slowly opened. Josh stumbled as he pulled him inside, almost bringing both of them down into the fall but luckily, Paxton kept his footing.

The elevator dinged once on every floor, making Pax nearly jump out of his skin from the noise.

_Ding_, B3. _Ding_, B2.

Pax bit his lip and groaned, silently willing the damn thing to hurry. Josh was barley hanging on and Pax's shoulder was throbbing painfully from the dead weight, not to mention the excruciating pain from his left hand. The elevator beeped as it reached B1 and Paxton held his breath and waited for the ground-floor light to ding, his fingers twisting nervously around the handle of the gun.

The light for the ground-floor didn't light up however; the light for B1 blinked twice as the elevator came to a complete halt and then the large steel box started drifting back down towards the lower basement levels.

"Fuck!" Paxton yelped and immediately bolted towards the key-panel and started smacking the 1st floor button rapidity.

(Go up you bastard! Go up!)

This couldn't be happening. They were almost home free!

B2 lit up and Paxton felt his heart drop into his stomach. Not knowing what else to do, he shifted Josh's weight around until he held the majority of his weight with his left hand – ignoring the sharp pains coming from his severed fingers – and raised the glock with right hand, aiming it's barrel right at the center doors.

His breath came in quick pants as the elevator drifted to a stop and dinged. For a moment, time seemed to crawl to a stop as he waited for the large steel doors to open and after what felt like an eternity, they slid open.

At first, Pax couldn't see anything. The floor the elevator was currently perched on was covered in a thick darkness that made it nearly impossible for him to see anything. That was, until a dark shadow moved into the elevator's light and froze.

It was another torturer, covered in a bloodstained apron. His head was turned the other way as the doors opened but his head eventually turned and he was met with a puzzling sight.

"What the fuck?"

Quicker then Pax's eyes could see, the torturer reached for the pistol at his waist and pulled it out.

Paxton was jerked back to reality when his ears heard the click of the gun loading and at that moment, his brain could only process one single thought. _Josh._

With in the blink of an eye, Pax threw Josh against the elevator's side and raised his gun. He wasn't fast enough though and soon a loud bang echoed inside the elevator's haul. A flash of white hot, searing pain pulsed though Paxton's right arm and he felt the gun slip from his fingers, landing on the steel floor moments before his knees did.

A cry tore from deep within his throat as he gripped his right arm and a few short feet away from him he heard Josh cried his name. Blood poured down his fingers and his arm throbbed in pain. Damn that bastard was quick! Heavy boots echoed inside of his ears and quickly realized the man was in the elevator with them.

His head whipped up and spun around, trying to locate his gun. It lay a few feet away and he quickly scrambled over towards it. A gloved hand grabbed the back of his neck just as he grasped it and sent his whole body flying into a nearby wall.

Pax screamed as his wounded right arm slammed harshly against the cold steel but he forced himself to ignore the pain that was making his head swim. He used the wall for support and pushed off of it with his leg, sending his body sliding across the floor towards the discarded gun.

The two remaining fingers on his left hand touched the handle and slid it over towards his trembling right hand. His fingers curled around the handle just as the large gloved hand grasped his shoulder painfully and dragged him upright. The torturer spun him around and when Pax turned to face him, his fingers pulled the trigger.

The man screamed as the hallow rounds tore into his flesh and he was finally silenced when one burst though the side of his head a half-second later. Pax blinked and stayed absolutely still on the ground, his gun still aimed at the torture's dead body as it fell to the floor. His heart was pounding feverishly against his chest and it felt like a lifetime before Paxton slowly lowered his arms and sat up.

Josh was huddled in the corner where Paxton tossed him, his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he stared at the torture's crumpled body. Smoke was still wafting upwards from the bullet wounds in his flesh and the harsh smell of gunpowder still hung in the air.

After what felt like a lifetime had past between the two men, Josh shakily pulled himself together enough to crawl towards his friend.

"Pax? A-are you okay?"

Pax's vision was turning blurry as the overhead light danced in front of his eyes. Bile started working it's way up his throat again and he quickly rolled onto his knees and emptied his stomach contents once again. Josh tenderly crouched next to him and placed a shaky hand on his shoulder.

"The door." Paxton grunted out as he wiped his mouth with the back of his gloved hand. "Close the door!"

Josh nodded as he gingerly stood up and stumbled towards the control panel. The door wheezed and slid shut a quick moment later and Pax heaved a small, relieved sigh as he limply slid his body towards the wall and used it to help himself sit up.

His breath was still coming in short, quick bursts and his vision was still blurry. He willed his left arm to move and gently ran his intact fingers across the wound on his right. No hole, which meant the bullet just grazed him. A quick moment later he found the gash, it felt deep and it sure stung like hell but it still better then having the bullet go head on into his arm.

Josh's limping footsteps reached his ears a moment later as the other American knelt down beside him. The blonde's eyes were starting to water, from fear or from pain Paxton couldn't tell.

"I'm alright...just grazed me." Pax whispered softly, his eyes slowly starting to drift closed.

Josh remained silent and slumped against the wall, pain and discomfort clearly written across his features. Paxton stared at him through half-lidded eyes. How could he be that stupid? He could've killed that fucker a long time before he got a shot off if he only reacted faster. He couldn't afford to make that mistake again.

At least he got Josh out of the way just in time that was something to be grateful for. At least, Josh was safe... for the moment.

The elevator dinged once again as it resumed its way upwards but he barely heard it over the loud pounding of his heartbeat.


	3. Chapter 3

Just a few small notes before we begin, one I'm not a doctor so if my boys are handling their injuries the wrong way I'm sorry and two, I've never hot wired a car in my whole life so if I got it wrong, please forgive me. That's all...

**Chapter 3**

(Almost there...)

Paxton was wheezing painfully as the two of them climbed down the staircase. His whole body felt like it was being dismembered after every step and thanks to his latest wound, he was having a hard time keeping the fingers of his right hand wrapped around the handle of the gun. He even dropped it a few times on the way and he had to coax Josh into retrieving it for him because he wasn't physically able to.

And every time, the other American would ignore his own pain and discomfort to do so. Josh was even helping him walk upright at the moment, ignoring the tremendous pain inside his own body as he helped Paxton stumble down the dark corridor.

A faint sheen of light shining on the floor signaled they were almost outside and Pax felt his heart starting to beat normally once again. They were almost out of here. He could practically feel the clean air from the other side of the door on his skin.

He raised his hand towards the handle and cursed loudly when he couldn't grasp it. Josh gently pulled his shaking hand away and opened the door for him. Pax turned his head and gave his friend a grateful nod before pushing the door open and dragging them both outside.

Fresh air gently caressed their faces and both men sighed softly as the door closed behind them. The sounds of screaming soon faded from their ears and was replaced by the whooshing sound of the light breeze.

"What now?" Josh asked softly, his voice still quivering from fear.

"Those stairs lead towards the parking lot." Pax pointed towards the fair staircase at the edge of the catwalk. "I can probably hot-wire a car to get us out of here."

Josh looked hesitant for a moment but then bit his lip and nodded. "Okay."

Pax returned his nod and gently shrugged Josh's arms off. He wobbled a bit from his own dead weight before he regained his footing enough to stand upright. Josh's arms reached for him a few times but he pushed them away.

"I'm alright." He grumbled and quietly walked towards the staircase, the glock held tightly to his chest.

He peaked his head around the corner and moved his eyes around the area below the stairs. When it looked clear he waved Josh over and together they slowly descended down it. Josh's foot slipped when they neared the bottom and Pax quickly grabbed his hand to steady him.

His friend gave him a grateful look and walked down the rest of the steps untroubled. At the bottom, Josh's fingers were still wrapped around his hand and Pax didn't have the heart to remove them. As they neared a corner, Pax pulled them both into a crouch and stuck his head around the wall.

Just like he remembered a sea of cars greeted his eyes and he sighed relieved. His eyes scanned in between the rows of cars, looking for any movement. Two large men wearing long, dark coats immediately caught his attention. Even though they weren't dressed like any of the guards he'd seen so far, they still carried firearms so Pax assumed they were just drivers for some of the company's clients. He shuttered at that word. Clients? More like sadists and murderers.

He gently squeezed Josh's hand to get the other man's attention.

"When I give the signal, both of us are going to dash to the nearest car okay. There's only a few guards out there so we can make it if we're quick."

The blonde stared at him blankly and nodded. Pax risked one more look around the corner and waited for the nearest guard to turn his back before he pulled him forwards. His legs were wobbly as he ran, pulling Josh's weight with him and they ducked behind the nearest car.

Pax motioned for Josh to stay put as he stole a glance over the car's bumper to check the guard's position. The man still had his back turned and Pax took the opportunity to slid around the side of the car and pull on the nearest door handle.

The door opened and after many painful tries, Pax managed to haul himself into the driver's seat. He crawled over towards the passenger's side and opened the door for Josh to climb in. His friend did a moment later, a pained whimper tearing from his lips as he crawled into the seat.

Pax ran his fingers under the dash until he felt wires and pulled hard on them. They wouldn't budge and his fingers kept slipping. He tired once more and growled loudly when his fingers wouldn't grasp them.

"Josh I need you to pull those wires out for me."

Josh raised his head and gave Paxton a confused look.

"What?"

"I need you to rip the damn wires out for me. I can't get a hold of them."

Josh did as he asked, pulling the colored wires out roughly and holding them in Pax's arm reach. Pax's fingers seized them a quick second later and he set to work, twisting the edges together and silently praying the car would start.

"Pax." Josh whimpered a moment later.

"Almost got it." Pax mumbled as he twisted the wires with his fingers.

The car jolted once under him and then died a quick second later.

"Pax."

"I almost have it Josh, just hang on."

"One of them's looking over here." Josh whispered fearfully.

Paxton's fingers froze as he raised his head. A few rows away one of the guards was staring in their direction with a perplexed look. A moment later, he started walking towards them.

"Fuck." Pax yelped and started twisting the wires faster. "Come on."

(Fucking European cars!)

The two wires between his fingers sparked and the car roared to life a quick second later. Pax mouthed a silent prayer of thanks to the higher-powers above and climbed back into the driver's seat. The guard was less then thirty feet away from them and when he got a clear look at them through the windshield, he pulled a gun out of his belt.

"Pax!"

"Hang on to something!" Paxton yelled as he set the car in drive and slammed the pedal down on the floor.

The car spurred into action and roared as it's wheels tore through the gravel. The guard readied his gun but before he could get a shot off, Pax directed the car towards him. In the blink of an eye, there was a hard impact against the car's hood as a black blob toppled over the car's front and rolled off it's rear.

Pax felt his heart skip a beat and over in the passenger's side, Josh fought to keep his scream quiet. Neither one of them risked a glance backwards as the car sped towards the main opening but from his rear-view mirror, Pax could see the other guard running towards his fallen companion.

The car swung around a corner swiftly, tossing both of them around in the cabin as it fought to level it's self and it sped towards the gate. The gate, as it turned out was nothing more then a thin 4 inch blocker that Pax floored the car through a moment later, sending little bits of wood flying over the car's windshield.

His eyes jumped back to the rearview mirror, carefully watching for any cars tearing out of the exit that was now growing smaller and smaller behind them. Josh moaned quietly in his seat and leaned his head against the window.

Without his knowledge, Pax found his eyes shifting over towards the other man. Most of Josh's wounds where still bleeding heavily. They needed to be cleaned and taken care of and soon. His own as well.

His eyes looked in the mirror once again and a frown came to his face. No one was fallowing them, a thought that Pax found disturbing.

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(Come on, there has to be a first-aid kit or something in here!)

Pax grumbled a few curses as the tired fingers of his right hand tore through the car's rear cabin, feeling underneath the seats and between the cushions for anything he could use. His fingers bumped against a thick plastic case a moment later and he quickly pulled it out a travel sized first-aid box.

(Bingo.)

He nearly ripped the container's top off in his haste to find something to halt the blood-flow of his severed fingers and groaned happily when he found a package of gauze pads and a thick roll of cloth. Gingerly, he removed his glove and couldn't help his groan from the sight of his whole hand covered with thick, sticky blood.

Josh turned his head towards the backseat and paled when he saw his friend's hand.

"Oh my god..."

Pax ignored him and reached for the gauze pads and managed to rip the package open.. He grasped them in his fingers and then dropped them. He tried again and again but it was impossible to get his quivering fingers around the damn things.

"Josh. I need you to help me." He gasped sharply.

"W-what do want me to do?" Josh asked in a shaky voice, his stomach turning from the sight of his friend's hand.

"Just come back here and help me, I can't do this by myself."

Josh nodded sickly and opened his door and through his hazed vison, Pax could see the blonde walk towards the back of the car. Ignoring the blinding pain that emitted from his fingers, Pax forced himself to sit upright and he used his foot to scoot himself over to make enough room for Josh to sit next to him.

"Here, take these–" Paxton handed him two gauze pads and motioned towards the two stumps that had once been his ring and pinky finger. "And put them on there."

With shaky eyes, Josh nodded. "Okay..."

Pax gripped the top of the backseat with his right hand tightly, reading himself for the inevitable pain that was about to come. Josh's thin fingers held his arm gently, their shaking seamed to stop as he readied a pad and gave Pax the signal he should brace himself.

"Fuck!" Pax shrieked as the pad was firmly pressed against the throbbing wound.

Josh froze and looked like he was about to stop but Paxton shook his head. The second one was soon placed and Pax didn't even try to cover the tears that sprang forth from his eyes because of the pain.

"Now wrap my hand up."

Josh did as he instructed, making sure he tied the bandage around his hand tightly at his friend's insistence. Small red dots above the severed numbs were already staining the gauze before Josh finished but at the moment there wasn't anything else they could do for his hand so Pax turned his attention to his other injury.

"I need you to do my arm as well. Can you do that?"

Josh nodded.

"Good." He reached back into the plastic box and shifted things around until he found some peroxide and handed it to Josh.

As he removed his jacket, Pax finally got his first look at his gunshot wound. Like he expected it was just a graze, but it still felt deep. His first reaction was a grumbled curse from the fact that the

bullet tore through a section of tattoo that covered his arm while his second one was relief when he saw the graze wasn't as large as it felt.

The sleeve of his undershirt was stained with dried blood and he needed Josh's help removing it before his friend could clean the cut for him.

Josh gasped as his eyes roamed over his friend's bare torso, his lower lip starting to tremble. Pax followed his gaze and saw the collection of small three-pointed scars scattered across the left side of chest from the triple-pointed garden claw the demented German torturer beat him with.

"It's nothing. Do my arm." He instructed sternly, forcing Josh's attention away from his chest towards his arm.

The blonde obeyed, his eyes still roaming over the scars as he readied one of the gauze pads and used it to clean the gash. Paxton groaned and bit his lip from the harsh stings of the cleaner. A few agonizing moments later, Josh had a bandage tied around it firmly.

"There...how's that?"

Pax check his arm and lightly ran his fingers over the cloth. He smiled his thanks but his smile faded when his eyes caught a glimpse of something dark red shining through the opening of the jacket that covered Josh's body.

Before he could stop himself, Pax reached out and gently pulled the lapel of the jacket back. The small round punctures on Josh's chest were still bleeding heavily, leaving long red trails down his torso. Guilt started gathering inside of his chest and Pax mentally smacked himself for forgetting about Josh's injuries.

The blonde's skin started trembling and Pax quickly removed his hand. He knew damn well the last thing Josh wanted at the moment was to be touched liked that but those things seriously needed to be looked at. Swallowing down the heavy weight of his guilt, he gathered up the peroxide and the gauze strips.

"Can you unbutton the jacket for me?"

The blonde's eyes watered as he fearfully shook his head and scooted away from him, drawing his knees up defensively.

"No..."

Pax bit his lip and tried again. "Josh I'm sorry, but I need to have a look at your wounds to see how serious they are. Please?"

Josh stared at him silently for a long time before he reluctantly uncoiled his arms from his legs and inched closer. His fingers shook as they tried to undo the large gold buttons and Pax resisted the urge to reach over to help him.

Eventually, Josh got the button's undone and hesitantly pulled his arms out of the jacket's sleeves, letting the wool fabric bunch around his waist. Pax's eyes widened when he saw the round holes on Josh's chest clearly and he didn't even bother trying to halt his hand as he reached upwards and set his fingers near one of the punctures.

"Jesus, what the fuck did these?"

Josh bit his lip and lowered his head, his voice coming out as a soft mumble.

"Drill..."

"A drill?" Pax frowned and tried to make since of his friend's words. "You mean like a power-drill?"

Josh whimpered and nodded.

"Fucking Christ." Pax growled as he grabbed the peroxide and the gauze strips.

He poured a small amount of peroxide on one of the strips and gently dabbed it over the round cuts. The holes looked deep and judging from the way Josh jerked and moaned as the chemical touched them Pax realized they were _much_ deeper then they looked.

(He needs to get to a hospital and soon...we both do.)

He moved down Josh's chest towards the second pair. They looked even deeper then their twins a few inches above them.

"Fucker's lucky he's already dead, otherwise I'd head back there and do the same shit to him." Pax growled angrily.

His mind was filled with the face of the man he met in the locker room. That horrid smile on his face, that sick glint he had in his eyes he was looking at Josh huddled in the corner.

"It wasn't him."

Paxton blinked and raised his head.

"What was that?"

"The guy you killed...he didn't do this." Josh whispered and lowered a shaking hand towards the small uneven cuts along his stomach. "He only did these and..."

Josh cut off and lowered his head once again, his eyes boring down at the floor. Even though Josh stopped talking, his silence was more then Pax needed to fill in the blanks.

"Who did this to you then?" He asked, his temper rising dramatically.

Josh stiffened under his hand and his lip started to tremble.

"The man we met on the train."

The peroxide bottle slipped from his hand and landed with a loud thud against the car's floor but Pax ignored it. Thick, dark rage boiled inside of him at the memory of the dirty, stout Dutch man who sat in their compartment on the train. The man who ate with his fat, stubby fingers, the same man who had the nerve to reach over and grab Josh's leg.

His brain instantly started putting scenarios together of what that sick bastard _did_ and _possibly_ did to his best friend and Pax's stomach turned sickly.

"Demented fuck..." Pax mumbled as he moved his attention to the holes the sick Dutchman drilled into Josh's arms.

Their silence stretched into long minutes as Pax ran the gauze over them and tried to clean the wounds up as best as he could. His eyes moved downwards towards the final pair of holes cut into Josh's thighs and his hand stilled.

"Do you wanna do the rest?" He asked gently, remembering that Josh didn't want to be touched around _there_.

Josh nodded and nervously held out his hand. Pax handed him some clean pads and retrieved the peroxide from the floor.

"Try to clean yourself up as best as you can okay? I'll be outside." He replied in a soft voice, knowing that Josh wanted some privacy.

Josh mumbled a small reply and watched him slid across the seat and out of the open door. Once outside, Pax groaned and stretched his cramped limbs. The shoulder the car was parked on was near a small pasture and in the distance a few cows could be seen grazing.

He looked the road up and down a few times, it was deserted–like it was when he first pulled off onto it– but the cold feeling curling inside of his gut made him feel like he was being watched. After looking the road up and down one more time he walked towards the rear of the car and examined the trunk.

He slid his fingers under it's handle and pulled, hoping he didn't a key to open it. Luckily he didn't. The trunk was mostly empty, with the exception of a few tools and a travel bag wedged in a corner which Pax immediately seized and unzipped. His eyes lit up when they saw clothing and a small water bottle and he quickly twisted the cap off and took a few sips from it.

He glanced through the rear window at Josh's head and waited until it looked like Josh was finished tending to himself before he strolled back towards the car's cabin. He tossed the bag onto the seat next to Josh's leg and felt his heart stop when the blonde startled and instantly tried to cover himself with the jacket.

"I found some water and clothes in the trunk. Hopefully something in there will fit you." He said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice.

Josh gave him a shy nod and waited for him to leave again before he started digging through the bag of clothing. Before he left again, Pax retrieved the gun from the front seat and snagged a black t-shirt from the clothing pile to replace his recently discarded one.

Predicably, the second he disappeared from the door, his ears picked up the sounds of Josh shuffling around in the backseat. He leaned against the trunk again and gingerly slid his arms into the shirt's armholes and pulled the cloth over his head; luckily it's sleeves were long enough to cover the bandage on his arm.

When that irritating chore was done, he leaned against the car's rear and examined the glock. He ejected the clip and counted the remaining bullets in the magazine. Six rounds left. His left hand started shaking as it held the gun and Pax quickly snapped the clip back into the glock's handle and placed the gun back on the car's trunk.

The pain from his left hand was excruciating and he knew he needed to get to a hospital just as badly as Josh did. The only problem was he didn't have a freaking clue where the two of them where. When that bitch Natalia drove him out here he was too lost in his thoughts and worried about where the hell Josh and Oli were to pay attention to any road signs he would've seen on the way.

_Natalia._

Her face appeared inside of his mind a moment later and a dark, rage filled growl vibrated inside of his throat. That sadistic bitch. His rage grew as he remembered the amused look she had on her face as she lead him to the factory, her evil laugh as the two guards dragged him away into one of the rooms...

His right hand slammed into the car's bumper with a loud thud and he immediately regretted his outburst as sharp pain waves shot up his arm.

"Fuck..." He groaned and cradled his hand against his chest gently.

He really needed to stop hitting things.

The sound of shuffling footsteps made him raise his head alarmed but when his eyes caught a glimpse of Josh's wavy blonde hair he quickly relaxed. Josh's new appearance was much easier on his eyes. His face was whipped clean of blood and bile, and he was dressed in a lose white t-shirt and a pair of old, ripped jeans.

"Here..." Josh numbly replied as he held out the long wool jacket Paxton had first covered him in. "I didn't know if you wanted it back or not..."

Pax moved his gaze from Josh's hand up his arm. The sleeves of the t-shirt weren't long enough to completely conceal the drill holes so Pax shook his head.

"No, you keep wearing it. Those will probably attract some attention if they're seen." He said, motioning towards the punchers.

Josh nodded and shrugged himself back into the jacket's warmth. The wool had some large stains on it and it still smelled of blood but not in a large enough amount to be terribly noticeable.

A small flash of light grabbed his attention and Pax jerked his head up. In the fair distance, a black Mercedes turned off the main road and onto the dirt road they where currently parked on. Pax reached behind them and grabbed the gun from atop the car's trunk.

"We need to leave. Now."

Josh saw it too, his face paling as he nodded and both of them hastily moved back towards the car's cabin.

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Much love to my only reviewer so far SuperSixOne, thanks hon, it's because of you I'm still posting this on here.


	4. Chapter 4

One small note, since Natalia and her friend were constantly speaking German throughout the movie I'm assuming the townsfolk speak it as well. I don't remember which part of Europe the boys were in. I know they were somewhere near Slovakia, that's about it. If one of you knows better please feel free to correct me because I failed Geography in high school.

**Chapter 4**

"Are they still behind us?"

Pax looked in the rearview mirror and growled when he saw the familiar black Mercedes trailing a few hundred yards behind them, as it had been for the past hour or so.

"Yeah, they're still following us." He grimly replied and turned his attention back towards the deserted road in front of them.

Josh bit his lip and pulled his legs up against his chest. The blonde was shaking heavily in his seat and mumbling incoherent words as he kept looking over his shoulder at the black car.

Pax glanced over in the passenger's seat at him, his stomach tightening from the cold fear showing on Josh's face. He could only imagine the thoughts and images running through his friend's mind at the sight from the strange car.

A moment later he forced his eyes away and glanced in the mirror once again. The black car was still a good distance behind them and Pax had the disturbing feeling it was on purpose. That car could've easily over-taken them at anytime along the deserted road but it hadn't. It was maintaining a good distance from them and it almost seamed like it's driver was waiting for something.

Pax frowned and pressed a little harder on the gas pedal. When their car pulled too fair ahead, the Mercedes also sped up. Yeah, they were defiantly waiting for something...

"Fuckers." Paxton growled and pressed down on the pedal again.

Predictably, the other car sped up and Pax slammed his fist into the steering wheel enraged. His eyes started scanning the area around the empty fields. Faint outlines of buildings could be seen over a small stretch of hills to his right and a small ray of hope washed over him.

"There's a town over there. We can make it if I can find the damn turn off."

Josh raised his head and eyed the hillside closely but didn't say anything. His fingers where shaking and twisting against the fabric of the loose t-shirt he was wearing. Pax check the mirror again, his eyes narrowing into thin slits as the noticed the foreign car slowly gaining speed behind them.

He cursed and swept his eyes along the road in front of them, looking for a turn off or anything he could use to shake the bastards off their trail. Finally spotting one, Paxton gently let up on the accelerator as a plan slowly starting forming inside of his mind.

He let the car coast for a while, watching the speeding Mercedes in the rearview mirror and waited until their car passed the connecting road before he violently turned the wheel. The car jerked as it turned, it's wheels grinding together as Pax directed it through the dirt and onto the second road.

Just as he hoped, his drastic maneuver confused the other car's driver and bought them some time. Slamming his foot down as hard as he could on the peddle, Pax forced the car down the dirt road. The Mercedes regained it's composer a moment later and sped after them.

The small shapes of buildings starting growing larger as they neared the outskirts of the town. The black sedan was still on their tail, it's driver obviously growing irritated because it closed on them a moment later. Pax cursed and applied more presser to his foot. The car started growing jerky and the steering-wheel started vibrating in his hands, signaling the vehicle wouldn't be able to handle it's current speed for much longer.

(Come on you piece of shit, just hang on for a bit longer. We're almost there.)

The car lurched forward as something hit it and Paxton saw the hood of the black car right behind them in the mirror.

"Fuck. Hang on Josh." Pax yelled as he swung the steering-wheel to the left, forcing the car off to the side and back onto the road again.

The Mercedes retaliated by quickly moving behind them and ramming it's front into their rear once again. The impact jerked both men around in their seats and Pax was barely able to keep the car in a straight line. His fingers immediately reached for the gun his lap but due to rate the car was speeding down the road he seriously doubted he could get a decent shot off and he didn't want to waist his few remaining bullets.

A sign soon appeared on his left, Paxton couldn't make out what it said but he was happier then hell to see it. The dirt road soon became cement as they neared the outskirts of the town and without warning or a reason, the Mercedes backed off and reduced it's speed.

"What the fuck?" Paxton gapped as the black car slowly faded into a thin black shape as their car bolted away from it.

Josh turned his head and gazed through the back window at the retreating car. "They're letting us go?"

Pax glared into the mirror and shook his head. "No. They're just backing off."

Josh shrieked a tiny curse and curled his arms around his legs once again. The car finally reached one of the town's back roads and soon the Mercedes completely disappeared from view. Pax's eyes were still locked on the mirror as they wound through the small streets until a large black blob moved into his vision.

He had just enough time to slam his foot on the brake before their car collided into a large delivery van parked in the middle of the street.

"Fuck." Paxton groaned and pounded on the horn. "Move that thing dammit!"

He looked over his shoulder again and saw the dented hood of the black Mercedes slowly pull into view a few hundred feet behind him. His fist slammed against the horn a few more times before a man standing on the sidewalk waved angrily at him and slowly made his way towards his truck.

Pax whipped his head around and checked the black car's position once again. It was getting closer, they were trapped!

"Shit. We're gonna have to run for it."

Josh whipped his head up in the passenger's side. "W-what?"

"That car is right behind us and this fucker won't move in time." Pax said as tore his seatbelt off and once again looked through the back window. "At least on foot we'll have a chance."

Josh bit his lip and looked through the window as well. His eyes were full of fear and panic but he forced himself to nod.

"M'kay."

Paxton glanced behind him and looked around for an opening. He found one, another car came into view at the intersection behind them and there was an open alley on Josh's left. Keeping his eyes on the intersection, he reached for the gun and tucked it into his belt.

"Josh, when I say go, we're gonna run into the alley over there on your left. Understand?"

"Yes..." Josh quietly mumbled as he undid his seatbelt as well.

Pax waited, the car had just signaled and before the Mercedes reached the intersection, it turned left in front of them.

"Go!"

Both men opened their doors and dashed towards the deserted alleyway in a low crouch. It was difficult for Josh to run with his injuries and fearing that his friend would fall over, Pax grabbed his arm and together they managed to duck behind the wall of bricks just as their cover was removed.

The sound of the Mercedes slamming on it's breaks echoed from the street behind them and both men forced their legs to move faster. The alley came to a fork and Pax forced them to a halt as he tried to figure out which way they should go.

The alley was bordered by high brick walls with no windows or doors so there was no where for them to hide and due to the thickness of the bricks, Pax didn't want to risk pulling his gun out. There only choices were the two paths.

Heavy footsteps soon echoed in the alleyway behind them and Paxton, not wanting to waist anymore time, grabbed Josh's hand and lead them down the path to his right. Josh trudged along tiredly behind him but for the most part he was able to keep up with the other American despite the pain from his injuries.

The footsteps behind them halted and Pax could hear two men's shouts vibrating off the walls as they conversed in German, trying to figure out which way the two of them went.

Eventually, the path they ran down led them to a crowed street and never in his life had Pax ever felt so happy to see a large group of people. Both men stopped to catch their breath briefly and Paxton glanced over his shoulder. Shadows appeared on the wall behind them and he tightened his grip on Josh's and lead them into the populated street.

He glanced behind them at the alley's entrance and sure enough, too large men dressed in black suits soon appeared from it's depths and started scanning the crowd. One of them looked to be well over six feet tall with a shaved head, while the other was slightly smaller with black hair.

"Shit. Over there." Pax whispered and quickly pulled them both to the side of a small corner shop.

They ducked down behind the shop's extended window and watched. Their pursuers split up and started wandering through the street, pushing through the groups of various people. The heavy-set bald one started making his way over towards their hiding spot and Paxton felt Josh tighten his fingers around his hand.

"He's coming over here."

"Fuck." Pax cursed and started scanning their surroundings for a place to hide.

A pair of large wooden doors a few meters away instantly grabbed his attention and Pax pulled Josh over towards them. He opened one and was about to cross the threshold when Josh froze.

"Josh come on." He tugged on the other's hand forcefully.

Josh shook his head and whimpered. "No."

"Josh we don't have time for this, come on." Pax urged and pulled on Josh's arm again.

"No, not here. Not again." Josh wailed, his eyes watering as he stared at something above their heads.

Pax followed his gaze and felt a weight settle inside of his stomach. Judging from the foreign letters on the sign and it's bright coloring, they were standing outside of the same bar Natalia and her blonde friend had taken them to after Oli disappeared.

He remembered that night clearly, something inside the last drink he ordered made him feel incredibly sick and stumbled around the bar for about ten minutes and thanks to extremely fortunate circumstances he ended up locked inside one of the storage closets. He awoke the next morning only to discover that Josh was also missing without a trace, like Oli...and all because of those fucking bitches.

Paxton snapped out of his thoughts and moved his eyes away from Josh's quivering figure towards the busy street. The men chasing them were standing in the middle of the street looking it's length up and down. The bald one moved his eyes towards the bar they were standing in front of and his gaze halted when he noticed the two Americans.

"Fuck. Josh come on, we don't have a choice." He urged and leaned closer, holding Josh's hand in a reassuring way. "Nothing bad will happen to us this time, I swear."

Josh blinked tearfully and lowered his head. Sensing his friend's resolve drop, Pax pulled on his arm once again and sighed relieved when Josh didn't fight him and quickly hauled both of them into the dark atmosphere of the bar.

A few heads turned when they entered by Pax ignored the question gazes and lead them through the bar. The front door jerked open and closed a moment later and over his shoulder, Pax could see the

burly frame of the bald-headed man scanning the area inside of the bar.

(There has to be a back door somewhere...or at least another fucking closet.)

He carefully maneuvered the two of them through the group of foreign drunkards towards the far end of the bar. With the large amount of people gathered inside the small building, it was fairly easy for them to blend in, even with their pursuer standing less then a hundred feet away.

Too engrossed with keeping his eyes on the man fallowing them, Pax didn't noticed the small table in front of them until his knee painfully coiled with it. One of the table's legs cracked and a few drinks toppled over.

"Shit." Pax gasped and tried to grab the glasses before they made too loud of a noise.

He glanced over his shoulder and froze one again. The man was looking right at them! His eyes narrowed and he started muscling he way through the crowed towards them. Pax felt his heart move up into his throat and in a full state of panic, moved his eyes back and forth looking for an exit.

He spied a small hallway leading towards the restrooms and without a moment's hesitation, both men bolted towards it, not caring they were bumping into people. The bald guy was hot in their trail as they dashed down th smoky hallway towards the storage rooms.

Josh's breath was coming in quick harsh paints as he tried to keep up with the darker-haired American and soon he started coughing loudly.

(Fuck, tell me he's not having an asthma attack right now!)

Sensing that his fear was correct, Pax halted and roughly pulled them both around a corner. Josh's chest was heaving and he kept coughing into his hand. Paxton glanced around the corner and kept his eyes pealed for the bald man. The man skidded to a halt in the hallway a moment later and gazed up and down it confused.

Thankful for their moment of rest, Pax gently rubbed Josh's shoulder and silently willed for his friend's breathing to get under control. Naturally Josh didn't have his inhaler on him so the best thing he could do was keep taking deep gulps of air to get his lungs under control. Fortunately, the loud music of bar was able to drown out his coughing. The man checked both ends of the hallway and eventually, he started down the path leading away from their hiding spot.

"Thank god." Paxton sighed as a wave of relief washed over him. "You alright?"

"Think so..." Josh replied around a violent cough.

The blonde's chest was still heaving dangerously and his voice was raspy but despite his shortness of breath, Josh slowly drew himself to his full height and signaled he was alright. Pax glanced around the corner again.

A short distance way was a black metal door marked _exit_ and Pax took Josh's hand once again. The blonde's hands were trembling but they calmed once they felt Pax's warmth. Pax checked around the corner again and saw the coast was clear.

He pulled on Josh's hand and together they quietly walked towards the rear exit. The second Pax pushed on the door, a loud beeping sound filled the hallway.

(Shit. Should've guessed the door had an alarm.)

Over the ear-splitting sound of the fire alarm, Paxton could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps running towards them and soon the large bald man appeared at the end of the hallway. Pax groaned a long string of cursed and kicked the door open.

The back door opened to reveal another high-walled alleyway and both men sprinted down the brick pathway, a pair of heavy footsteps fallowing close behind them. The alley twisted and turned as they fallowed it's path and soon sounds of cars and people reached Pax's ears.

As they rounded the last corner another crowed street came into view and Paxton forced his legs to move faster. Josh's hand was gripping his tightly as he fought to keep up with Pax's pace. The bright sunlight radiating from the open street soon breached the alleyways shady corners as they neared it.

Then suddenly, Josh slid to a stop and Pax's hand slipped from his grasp. The ground soon became smooth under his feet and just as he passed through the alley's mouth and neared the street he heard Josh scream.

"Pax!"

He turned his head, his eyes roaming over Josh's frightened face for a quick moment before something extremely hard and heavy slammed into his right side. His feet were pulled out from under him and the world spun around his eyes before he fell heavily against the cold, hard pavement.

A pained cry tore from his lips, sending small globs of blood from mouth against the ground as he tried to get his head straight enough to figure out what the hell just happened. A dark blue car was parked a few short feet away from him, the front of it's hood was crushed in from what looked like a hard impact and smoke was rising from it's dented frame. The driver fell out of it's cabin a second later and started yelling frantically in German.

Pax's vision was hazy and went dark a few times as he laid his head against the ground and moaned. His left arm stung painfully and he couldn't even move his right. His head felt like it was just hit repeatedly by a hammer as did the rest of his battered body. A pair of trembling hands grabbed him a moment later and even through his battered state, he could easily tell they were Josh's.

"Pax. Oh my god, please open your eyes! Pax."

Josh's voice started growing fainter and sounded like it was far away. He forced his eyes open and through his blurry vison, he could clearly see the burly frame of the bald-headed man standing in the mouth of the alleyway.

Panic started tearing at the inside of Pax's chest and no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to get his body to move. Oh god, he couldn't run.

Fear started working it's way up his spine and down his throat. He tried to get his head to turn but it was held against the pavement lightly by Josh's hand. A groan emitted from his throat as he reached upwards and pushed Josh's hands off of him.

"Josh g-go... run!"

Even though he wasn't physically able to run away, Josh could at least. He pushed at his friend's arms once again but to his dismay, they weren't moving.

"Josh–goddammit, get out of here!" He yelled, his voice cracking from the blood working it's way up his throat.

"He's gone..." Came Josh's frightened whisper.

Pax gently raised his head from the pavement and through the gaps in the crowd that had gathered around them, he could see the man slowly retreated into the alley's darkness and out of sight.

(Thank god...)

Approaching footsteps sounded somewhere behind him and two men wearing white uniforms knelt down in Pax's vison.

"Der du abhören mich!" One of the men yelled in German and then tried English when he didn't received a reply. "Son, can you hear me?"

Paxton's only response was a gurgled moan as he felt the world escape his grasp and turn black, sending him into a heavy, dark void.

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If I got the German wrong, please for the love of god tell me! I was using some cheap web-program to look up the words so I have no clue how correct they are.


	5. Chapter 5

Redeemer is back on y'all with two redone chapters. Yay.

**Chapter 5**

"_So this is your John Doe?"_

"_Yes, this is him. He was brought in here a couple of days ago."_

Paxton groaned softly as his ears picked up a faint voice buzzing somewhere near his ear. His head felt like someone had it in a vice and was twisting the handle mercilessly while his body felt like it was trapped somewhere in the void between awareness and unconsciousness. He felt awake but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't force his eyes to open.

There were two distinctive voices somewhere near him, one was soft and feminine with an accent that sounded German. The second voice, however was defiantly male and had a foreign twist to it.

"_Any ID on him?"_

A pair of soft, thin fingers touched his wrist gently and felt for a pulse.

"_No. He wasn't carrying a wallet or any ID when they brought him in."_

The male's voice hummed quietly and soon Pax's ears were able to pick up the sounds of a pen scratching against paper.

"_What about the other one they brought in with him? Is he awake?"_

The fingers removed themselves from his wrist and a pair of feet shuffled across the room.

"_No. He's recovering the fifth floor. Poor thing was in surgery for almost five hours. __**His**__ only took three."_

The scratching sounds halted and the man's voice spoke with a confused tone.

"_Wait, I thought he was the only one who was hit? Over five eyewitnesses claimed his friend wasn't anywhere near the car or the street when the accident happened."_

There was a long paused between the voices and Pax feared for a moment that he lost consciousness. His ears strained to hear any words they could pick up. He wanted to know where the hell he was and what had happened.

"_Well, when the ambulance arrived on the scene he was already unconsciousness and bleeding severely but once they pulled his fried away from him the poor boy passed out. They brought both of them here and– well you can just imagine the shock our staff received when we looked them both over."_

Pax listened closely but felt his patience where thin when the two voices stopped talking once again. Josh was here? Where? Was he okay?

"J...osh." He felt himself moan pitifully.

Once again the scratching sounds stopped and even though he couldn't see them, Pax could tell the owners of the strange voices where staring at him.

"_He just said something."_

"_He's been mumbling things in his sleep ever since he was brought back from surgery. He keeps repeating the names Josh and Oli over and over again." _

The male voiced hummed once again and Pax guessed he was writing more things down.

"_Josh and Oli...any others?"_

"_Not that I've heard. They have him on enough morphine to kill a horse so he probably has no idea where he is or what he's saying."_

"_Mmh, well I think that's all I need for now. You'll inform me when he wakes up? Good, thanks for your time Ma'am."_

"_Your welcome."_

Sounds of heavy footsteps echoed inside of his head and Pax felt himself fall into the dark void once again.

--------------------------

After what felt like a few seconds, he felt himself regain consciousness again. This time, the only thing he was aware of was pain. Sharp, white hot pain that completely engulfed the entire right side of his body.

He felt himself groan mentally and he focused all of his remaining energy to open his eyes. Scorching bright light greeted him and he snapped his eyelids back closed and waited until they adjusted to open them again.

Everything around him was white, the walls, the ceiling. His vision sharpened enough for him to notice that he was in a small room and resting on a cushioned surface. There was soft cotton under his fingers and he curled them around the source in order to determine what it was.

It was a blanket and the cushioning under him felt like a bed. Where the hell was he?

A second later, something small and warm lightly touched his left arm and Pax quickly realized they were s pair of thin fingers.

"Kann Sie hören mich?"

Paxton's eyes focused on a slim figure standing on his right wearing a white uniform. A nurse.

"Ja Englisch bitte." Pax whispered.

The woman smiled lightly at him. "Is this better?"

Pax nodded weakly and turned his head in order for him to get a better look at her. He face was aged but still looked young with pale blonde hair tied up into a bun. Her voice is what stood out the most to him, it was one of the main ones he heard when first woke up.

"Do you know where you are?"

He shook his head.

"Well, you're in a Hospital. You were hit by a car five days ago and the ambulance brought you here. You've been unconscious for most of that time."

Pax blinked, confused and tried to recap his thoughts. His memories where in shattered fragments, he could faintly recall laying in the middle of a street after something heavy rammed into him. Before that, he remembered running into the street. He was running from something, but what?

The nurse gently reached forwards and held his wrist of his left hand. As she raised his hand to check his pulse, Pax saw his left hand was neatly taped up with a clean bandage and as he stared at the empty space where his ring and pinky finger should've been, his brain suddenly powered on.

Bit and pieces of memories started flashing behind his eyes; the dark factory, the sounds of people screaming and the evil laughter that followed, the horrible man inside the locker-room who kept grinning as he described killing someone.

Pax whimpered and closed his eyes as they started to water.

"Are you alright?" The nurse leaned forwards with a concerned look on her face.

He didn't say anything; he just moved his eyes towards the cracked ceiling and stared at it blankly. Oh god, that horrible place wasn't a dream; he really did escape from that hell. The nurse felt his hand shake and she gave him a soft smile and gently rubbed his arm. Her fingers were soft and warm and Paxton felt himself relaxing into their comfort.

"Do you remember your name?"

He thought for a long moment before he decided he might as well give her his name.

"Paxton."

"Paxton." The nurse smiled warmly at him and let go of his arm. "I'm Natalie."

He tried to return her smile but it soon turned into a grimace. The whole right side of his body was in pain. He turned his head and frowned when he saw his right arm was in a sling and he couldn't move it, no matter how hard he willed it too.

"The impact from the car dislocated your shoulder incase you're wondering. It'll probably be a few more days before the nerves return and you can move it."

He stared at his arm for a few more seconds before he let his head fall back into the bed. He remembered the accident clearly inside his head now. He remembered running down an alley into the street and not seeing the car that hit him. As he replayed the scene over inside his head, he realized the last thing he could recall before the car hit him was someone screaming his name.

"Josh."

The nurse gently let go of his arm and leaned over him once more. "Josh? Is that your friend's name? The blonde one?"

He nodded fearfully and tried to turn his head, seeing if he could locate his friend. When he saw that he was the only patent in the room he turned his head back towards the nurse.

"W-where–"

"Your friend's on the fifth floor. He still needs more time to recover from his operation. You both do."

Pax felt his heart move up into his throat. Josh was here, his friend was in this building somewhere alone and that thought was more then enough to send Pax into a sever stage of panic. Both times Josh was out of his eyesight something horrible happened to him.

He forced himself to move, gingerly pulling himself upright despite the immense pain coursing through his body. His vision went blurry and feeling lightheaded, he slumped forwards. The nurse's arms grabbed him a moment later.

"You're in no shape to be moving around like that, lie back down this instant!" She yelled sternly as she pulled him back on the bed.

Pax tried to shrug her arms off but he didn't have enough strength to and soon, he found himself on his back again, staring at the cracked ceiling.

"You'll only agitate your injuries more if you thrash around like that. You're going to need a few more days of bed rest; I'll strap you down if I have too."

Pax ignored her, his eyes still staring up at the roof but eventually he got himself to nod. The last thing he needed was to be restrained and left completely helpless once again.

"Good. Now that you've calmed down, how about something to eat?"

He didn't answer and from the way the nurse shook her head, he knew she didn't expect him too and soon, he heard her footsteps walk away from him and out of the room. Once she was gone, Paxton didn't try to hold himself together.

Tears started crawling down his cheeks and a whimper tore from his throat. Five days, he'd been here for five whole days? Five whole days and no one found him yet, or drug him back to the factory?

(Josh...)

Was Josh even okay; did any of the E.H. bastards find him?

-------------------------

The next few days pasted by at a slow, grueling pace as Pax drifted in and out of drug induced sleeping periods.

He tried to get himself to sleep, fully taking advantage of the opportunity to rest as the wariness from the past few days caught up with him but almost every time he closed his eyes horrid images of the factory appeared in his mind; resulting in numerous nightmares.

Most of the time, his nurse, Natalie had to drop whatever it was that she was doing and forcibly shake him awake. One particular nightmare, where Pax found himself back inside the tiny torture room with the German asshole coming at him once again with the chainsaw, she had to call for one of the male orderlies to help her restrain him and after the man had received a few punch to the face and a swift, painful kick in the groin from Pax's knee, he strapped the struggling American to the bed with a set of leather cuffs.

The night that fallowed was filled with the sounds of Paxton's struggling and frantic cries to set free and after a few hours Natalie finally caved in and untied him. Pax spent the remainder of the night curled in a tight ball and went through the fallowing day without uttering a single word. When he could finally bring himself to talk once again, the first words he found himself uttering was Josh's name.

He still wasn't physically able to see Josh yet but after constantly bugging his nurse and refusing to eat anything, she eventually started keeping tabs on the other American for him. He was thrilled to hear that the doctors had managed to patch up most of Josh's wounds successfully and that his friend would heal alright.

However, he always ignored the questions that came his way afterwards. Even though his nurse seamed wonderfully kind, he didn't fully trust her... or anyone else working in the hospital for that matter. What if some of the staff members had ties to the company like Natalia and the fuckheads that ran that messed up hostel?

What if his nurse, with her caring, motherly behavior was a member?

He didn't know who to trust...he didn't know if he'd ever be able to trust people again.

--------------------------

"This might hurt a bit." Natalie warned softly as she gently unwrapped the bandage covering his left hand.

Pax winced slightly as the cold chill in the room nicked his bare hand and after a long passage of time, he finally removed his eyes away from the familiar sight of the cracked ceiling towards his left hand.

With his hand bare and scrubbed clean of blood it felt like he was looking at his severed fingers for the first time. The stumps were neatly stitched closed and had already begun healing over.

"I'll have to remove the stitches in a few days but other then that you're healing just fine."

Once again, Pax didn't reply, instead he forced himself to resume staring up at the cracked and stained hospital ceiling. After a few moments he cleared his throat and started asking his usual two questions.

"How's Josh doing?"

As he expected, Natalie sighed and shook her head before she answered him.

"He's doing just fine, as I informed you this morning. He still needs a few more procedures done before they can move him to the lower levels."

"Is he awake yet?"

"Not yet. Because of his injuries they're keeping him heavily sedated. He probably won't fully wake up for a few more days." She replied as she looked his stitches over.

He nodded his thanks and turned his head away. Natalie finished looking his hand over and wrapped it up in a fresh bandage a moment later.

"How's your right arm feeling?"

Pax shrugged. "Still hurts, but I can move it kinda."

"That's good, I'll remove the sling tomorrow and we'll see how it feels–"

"Natalie, es gibt jemanden aus hier bittend um Sie. " One of the orderlies called from the hallway.

"Geben Sie mich einen Moment bitte." Natalie yelled back, rolling her eyes. "Excuse me Paxton, I'll be right back."

He didn't say anything but his eyes fallowed her out of the room. When she was gone Pax turned and curled up on his side once again. He was tired of being coopted up inside of this damned room, he wanted to leave.

He wanted to see Josh, but he couldn't; he still wasn't strong enough to walk yet and there was no possible way his nurse was going to let him crawl all the way up to the fifth floor either. Natalie's soft footsteps echoed in the hallway and she peaked her head inside his door way a moment later.

"Paxton, there's someone here who would like to talk to you for a few minutes, is that alright?"

Pax frowned and rolled over onto his back, his mind reeling. Someone was here to see him, could it be Josh?

"Would you like me to send him in?" Natalie asked, still wearing her normal, motherly smile as she lingered in the doorway, waiting for his answer.

He nodded and pulled himself into a more comfortable sitting position. His spirits lifted slightly, if Josh was well enough to visit him then to two of them could figure out what to do next. Maybe they could've even get out of here before anyone found them?

However, his new found hope was shattered when a dark shadow appeared on the floor near the open door as a well built man wearing a long, black coat entered his room. His chest swelled tightly with fear as stared at the man and instinctively, his eyes moved slowly back and forth, looking for anything he could use as a weapon if he needed one.

"Good afternoon Mr. Paxton." The man replied with a full, thick Irish accent as he pulled his wallet out of his chest pocket and held up something round and shinny. "I'm inspector Petraki, mind if I ask you a few questions?"

------------------------

**Translations **

1) "Kann Sie hören mich?" (Can you hear me?)  
2) "Ja Englisch bitte." (Yes, English please.)  
3) Natalie, es gibt jemanden aus hier bittend um Sie. (Natalie, there's someone out here asking for you.)  
4) "Geben Sie mich einen Moment bitte." (Give me a moment, please.)

If anyone of those are incorrect, please correct me. I was using a cheap ass translator.


	6. Chapter 6

I also redid this one. Hope you guys like.

**Chapter 6**

"Good afternoon Mr. Paxton." The man replied with a full, thick Irish accent as he pulled his wallet out of his chest pocket and held up something round and shinny. "I'm inspector Petraki, mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Pax's eyes narrowed as he stared the stranger standing the doorway. He first thoughts were of locating a weapon or something he could possibly use because this man bore no resemblance to a typical police officer. His body was fairly large and well muscled and even in the dim lighting, Pax could see a small shinny glint from a pair of metal dog tags halfway sticking out of his jacket.

Yeah, this guy was defiantly not your typical cop and Pax felt his heart drop down into his stomach. An E.H. member...

(How'd they find me?)

Fearfully he looked around for his nurse only to discover she had left. He was completely alone with this stranger.

Seeing no other alternative, he bit the inside of his cheek and nodded.

"I guess..."

The man's grin stayed on his face the entire time as he crossed the room and pulled a chair near his bed. Pax's eyes never left the man's frame. His hair was dark and shoulder length while his face was framed with a thin layer of stubble that wasn't thick enough to conceal a small scar just under the man's chin.

"Well I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to see you recovering nicely from a horrible accident like that. You coming along okay?"

Pax didn't say anything, he was still studying the man with a weary eye. His voice held a thick Irish roll to it but there was also a touch of Hispanic in it. As a matter of a fact, judging from the man's dark skin and sharp eyes, there was defiantly some Hispanic blood in his veins.

"I'm feelin' alright I guess. Head's just a bit hazy, that's all." Pax replied.

"Sorry to hear that." Petraki replied as he pulled a small notepad out of the inside of his jacket. "My job requires me to file a report on this so I have to ask you a few questions, alright."

"Okay, I don't remember much but I'll try."

He smirked mentally, playing stupid was something he was gifted at and there was no way he was going to give this man any solid answers to go on.

Petraki flipped the notepad open and started scribbling a few things on it.

"Do you remember anything before the accident?"

Pax waited for a while before he spoke. "Not much."

"You don't know why you ran into the street in front of a moving car?" Petraki replied, raising an eyebrow.

Pax knew he didn't believe him but he honestly didn't care. His eyes kept darting down at the man's arm, hoping the sleeves on his jacket would ride up enough for him to see if the man had the company's logo tattooed on his arm like the rest of them did.

"Sorry." He shrugged. "Like I said, I don't remember much."

Petraki frowned and wrote a few things down before he asked another question.

"How about your friend, Josh wasn't it, where did he get his injuries come from?"

Paxton's heart skipped from the mention of his friend's name.

"What?"

"Well, over five people stated your friend wasn't anywhere near the street when the car hit you so I was wondering if you remember where they came from...and a few of yours as well. How did you lose the two fingers on your left hand?"

Pax couldn't stop his eye from twitching so he tried to cover it up with surprise as he pretended to look his let hand over.

"I don't know. Maybe from the car hitting me."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that as well until your nurse mentioned something about your hand already being wrapped up when they brought you in here."

Petraki ended his sentence with a stern look, trying to coax the answers he sought out of the American. Pax, however, was only growing more defensive.

"I said I don't remember." He replied, grumpily.

"What about Josh, would he remember anything? His injuries where even more puzzling then your own and half of the Hospital staff wants to know how he got them in order for them to treat him properly."

Pax bit his cheek again and decided to stay quiet. It wasn't his place to explain to everyone what had happened to his friend. Josh probably wouldn't want it. Besides, according to his nurse, Josh was recovering just fine so there was no reason for him to speak on the matter.

"I don't remember." He sighed, one final time.

He could practically reach out and touch the waves of frustration gathering around Petraki from his words. He smiled inwardly and leaned back into the bed, signaling that he didn't want to talk anymore. Thankfully, the other man got the hint and stood up.

"Thank you for your time Mr. Paxton. I'll drop by in a few days to see if you remember anything else–" Petraki cut off as something inside his front pocket started to ring. "Excuse me."

He opened his front pocket and pulled a cell phone out as he left the room. A few seconds later, Natalie shuffled her way into the room, apparently she was waiting outside for them to finish.

"Strange man." She mumbled as she shook her head. "Are you hungry?"

"No." Pax replied as his gazed wander upwards towards the ceiling again.

"Alright, I need to check your vitals so I'll have to bug you for the next few minutes."

She smiled her usual happy, motherly grin and Pax's lower lip curved into a grin as well.

"You never bug me." He sighed warmly and closed his eyes.

Her smile brightened but Pax's attention was jerked away from her face as Petraki's voice drifted into his room from the hallway.

"Yeah, he's awake. He seams fine but claims he doesn't remember anything...yeah, I think he's lying too...right, I'll check on the other one and meet up with you. The security in this place is pathetic, we shouldn't have a problem getting in. Hell, they didn't even search me on the way in...no you heard Sean, they're coming tonight so we need to be here. Right, I'll linger out front and wait for you."

Pax's heart felt like it'd burst inside of his chest at any moment. Oh god, he really was an E.H. member and what was worse, he knew where him and Josh were.

"Pax...are you alright?" Natalie grew concerned when Pax's hand started shaking violently.

He turned his head and tried to give her a pleading look but judging from the calmness of her face, she didn't hear a single word.

"Paxton, are you okay?"

Pax didn't answer. If the company knew where they were then the only thing they could do was run. They needed to leave, now.

"Is Josh awake?"

Natalie was quiet for a few moments while she checked his pulse but eventually she nodded.

"He's woken up a few times today, but I think he's still sleeping off the morphine so he'll be out for a while."

He nodded his thanks, his brain was still reeling with fear. There was no way he was going to leave Josh here. He'd never live with himself. The only choice he had was to wait a few hours until it was dark; Petraki said they weren't coming until then.

All he could was wait...wait and pray his luck would hold up.

-------------------------

"Are you in any pain?" Natalie asked, once again leaning over him and wearing her over-worried mother expression.

"No. I'm fine."

"Sure, I haven't given you any morphine today. Nothing hurts?"

"No." Pax lied, even thought his entire body was in pain.

He needed to be awake and fully alert and there was no way he'd be able to with any drugs in his system, so he forced himself to stomach his discomfort and kept his face clear.

"Well, alright, but in an hour or so you're gonna be begging for it. I'll make sure one of the nurses on duty checks on you during the night." Natalie said softly as she finished looking him over one last time before her shift ended.

Once she checked all of his vitals, changed the bandages on his left hand and questioned once again if he wanted any painkillers, she gathered up her medical tools and quietly padded out of the room.

"Night Paxton, I'll swing by and check on you in the morning." She called over her shoulder as she passed through the doorway.

"Bye Natalie." He called after her.

(Bye and thanks.)

He watcher her leave and his face saddened. He really wished he could've thanked her for her wonderful kindness and the sweet words she said to him during his recovery. However, his sorrow only stayed for a moment before his face hardened.

It was now or never, he needed to leave before anyone found him.

He waited for a few minutes, keeping his ears sharp and trained on the sounds of footsteps echoing in the hallway. Most of them sounded faint and far off so he assumed the coast was clear. Gingerly, he forced himself to sit upright.

A pained groan escaped his lips as intense pain waves swelled inside of his chest near his ribs. God, that car must've fucked him up more then he thought it did. He bit his lip from the pain and felt along his chest with the good fingers of his left hand. A few areas where sensitive to the touch but he could really tell how tender they were because the sling was still holding his right arm tightly against his chest.

His eyes moved down and glared at the sling, that thing needed to go. It was hard and frustrating trying to slid the damn strap over his head with just two good fingers but after a few long minutes and an even longer list of grumbled swear words, he finally got the damn thing over his head and slid the material off his arm.

The nerves in his right arm were still weak but never the less, he was able to move it and sit up straight without much difficultly.

He slid his legs out of the bedding and rolled them to the floor. They seamed to hold his weight easily enough and he was proven right as he stood up. He was a little wobbly at first but on the whole, he seamed fine, or close enough for him to wander around.

He glanced down at the rumpled hospital gown he was wearing and frowned. First thing he needed was some clothes, he'd attract too much attention dressed like this. He tip-toed towards the open doorway and peaked his head out.

The coast was clear so he started down the hallway. His bare feet tapped across the tiles softly and he made a mental note to stay barefoot if he found a pair of shoes. At the far corner of the hallway he located a sign and spent a moment reciting his German in order to understand the directions.

Luckily the sign showed the staff room was on his floor and he fallowed the directions towards the far end of the building. The hallways were deserted, a thought he found both comforting and disturbing.

Where was everyone? He honestly expected to run into someone by now.

A black wooden door marked "Staff Room" in German soon entered his view and Pax quickly sped up his pace. The door opened easily enough, even though it made a loud creaking sound as it swung closed, causing Pax to jump slightly.

He glanced around the room and sighed when he saw a set of lockers in the fair corner. He dug through them, smiling happily when he located a few articles of normal clothing and hurriedly changed into it.

As he finished, his ears picked up the sounds of approaching footsteps and his head snapped up. He could see shadows ghosting across the small gap under the door and Pax quickly ducked behind a table in the corner as the door knob begin to turn.

The door creaked as it was pushed open and a set of heavy but careful footsteps echoed inside of the small room. Pax felt a lump form inside of his throat and after a long moment he dared himself to peak over the table.

On the far side of the room, a man dressed in dark clothing was slowly scanning around the length of the room. His back was to him but when the stranger turned around, Pax couldn't help the shutter that went down his spine.

It was man who spoke to him earlier, Petraki.

His eyes started moving towards his hiding spot and Pax quickly ducked down. The inside of his chest was tightening painfully and it took most of his willpower to keep his frantic breathing quiet. He heard Petraki curse under his breath and he turned on his heel towards the open doorway.

Relief washed over him and Pax was about ready to slid out of his hiding place when a soft ringing sound filled his ears. He froze and tucked himself against the table once again. Through the gapes in the table he could see Petraki reach into his pocket and pull out his ringing cell phone.

"Yeah...no I can't find him, he must've wandered off...No Terry, I don't know where he is! If you'd stop bitching at Sean for a few seconds you would've heard me. He either wandered off or they got to him already! Make sure Jim stays by the front and keeps his eyes open, there's only one way out of this damn place."

Pax listened quietly, his heart beating a mile a minute inside of his chest. Patraki's voice was different, the Irish roll to it was completely gone and was replaced by a thick, Hispanic accent. The man was clutching a gun in his free hand while the other held the phone near his ear.

"Right, I'll head back up to the fifth floor and get the other one if he's still there. I got it Terry, stop shouting of orders already!"

Pax's body stiffened as he listened. The fifth floor...that only meant one thing, he was going after Josh. He needed to do something! His eyes moved around him and froze when they located a wooden cane leaning against the row of lockers.

(That'll work.)

As quietly as he could, he crawled over towards it and tightly wound his fingers around it's handle. He risked a glance over at Petraki who was still arguing into his phone and quietly crept up behind him, his eyes constantly darting down towards the gun he was holding.

His fingers tightened around the cane as he neared Petraki's back. He raised the cane, his eyes closing tightly, and swung. There was a loud thud as the wood cracked over the back of Petraki's head and his body immediately crashed to the ground.

Pax stared down at Petraki's body in disbelief and fearfully crouched down on the floor. He reached out and lightly placed his finger tips on the side of Petraki's neck and was both relieved and disappointed to see that he was still breathing.

With shaking fingers, he reached for the Petraki's gun from where it had fallen on the floor. His swallowed deeply as he pulled the barrel back and the gun clicked as a bullet slid into the chamber. On a hunch he pulled Petraki's jacket back and checked his belt and he was rewarded when his fingers stumbled across a small switchblade, which he immediately took and stuffed into his own pocket.

Petraki's cell phone rang again and Pax nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the noise. He forced himself to ignore it as he quickly got to his feet and fled through the door. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, Pax sped down the hall and around a few corners before he skidded to a halt.

Another strange man was standing in the middle of the hallway, holding a cell phone to his ear. His back was turned so Pax quickly ducked behind a corner. This man looked just as dangerous as Petraki and was wearing a long dark jacket. His hair was trimmed short and his face was framed with thin line of facial hair but what stood out the most was the way he carried himself, it was obvious he had some tactical training.

"Dammit Remy, pick up the damn phone!" The man growled as he snapped his phone closed and turned on his heel.

Pax quickly ducked around the corner once again as the man's footsteps sounded a few feet away from him. He pasted right by him and turned down the hall leading towards the staff room and Pax's fingers immediately coiled around the handle of the gun as he watched, hoping the man wouldn't turn around and discover him.

Once again, this man didn't resemble any E.H. member Pax had seen but he still looked very dangerous and that reason alone was more then enough for Pax to stay hidden until the man disappeared from his view.

He inhaled sharply as he bolted from his hiding spot and rounded the corner. A pair of elevators greeted him and Pax pounded on the call button until one of the double doors dinged open. He moved into the small metal area and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

As he looked up, his eyes immediately noticed a dark blip at the end of the hallway and his breath hitched. The man he just saw a moment ago was staring at him and when their eyes locked, Pax's fingers tightened on the gun's handle.

"Over here!" The man yelled down a hall towards his left and started charging towards the elevator.

Pax swore and jammed his finger into the button a few more times before the doors shut. The elevator pulled upwards and after a few long moments of his heart feeling like it'd burst inside of his chest, Pax sighed and leaned back against the wall.

His right arm hurt like hell and he was barely able to hold the gun upright. Maybe he shouldn't have refused the morphine. He felt his legs grow weak and Pax slid down to the floor and enjoyed his small moment of rest.

He needed to find Josh and soon. He just hoped that no one else already had.

(Please be ok Josh. Please let him be ok.)  



	7. Chapter 7

Whew, finally a new chapter. It's short but action filled.

**Chapter 7**

(Please be ok Josh. Please let him be okay.)

His fingers twisted around the handle of the gun he was holding as Pax mentally counted off the numbers that lit up on Elevator's keypad as the large, metal box pulled upwards. Deep inside of his chest, his heart was still beating a mile a second from his encounters on the lower floors but he forced himself to keep his composure for Josh's sake.

His friend was on the fifth floor somewhere, alone, and with those Elite Hunting bastards running around the damn place it was only a matter of time before they found him.

The large, metal box slowly rose to a stop and the large, white button labeled "5" in german lit up. Pax swallowed and readied his gun as the large, double doors slid open and showed an empty hall laid out before him.

He stepped out of the elevator cautiously and held the gun out in front of him as his eyes slowly roamed over his surroundings. The elevators were placed near a nurses' station and a set of more hallways laid to it's left, making Paxton groan from the sight.

(I feel like a damn rat in a maze.)

Deciding he didn't have enough time to pick the wrong one to go down, he headed over to the nurses' area and started randomly pawing through the many scattered documents, hoping there was something that would lead him to Josh's location.

Nothing. He growled and started shoving the papers around violently, not caring the slightest when they fell to the floor. Still nothing, where the hell was Josh's room?

His ears picked up the sound of a pair of soft footsteps coming up behind him and Pax immediately turned around and pointed his gun at the first sign of movement. A nurse rounded one of the corners and startled when her eyes caught sight of Pax's gun.

"Was auf Erden...Bitte schießen Sie nicht!!" She shrieked, dropping the clip board she was holding in her hands.

Pax stared at her warily. She was shaking, obviously frightened from the sight of his gun and her face looked very young. As a matter of a fact, she looked like she was around his age. His arm trembled but he refused to lower it, instead he cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice from wavering as he spoke.

"Sprechen Sie Englisch?"

The nurse blinked and gulped slightly, her eyes moving from the barrel of the gun to Pax's face. Her lip started quivering and her voice came out as a horse whimper.

"Y-yes. A bit."

"I'm looking for my friend. What room is he in?"

"Please don't shot me, I have a son." She sobbed dryly, her eyes watering as she stared at the gun.

"Where's my friend?" Pax yelled half in anger and half in complete terror.

The anger in his voice made the nurse jump slightly and her voice croaked once again. "Who- who is your friend?"

"Josh...his name's Josh. He was brought in here a few days ago."

"I'm sorry. I don't know anyone by that name. What does he look like?"

She was still trembling and Pax finally listened to his heart and lowered the gun.

"He's an American, about my height. Blonde hair."

The nurse was still staring at him with a blank expression so Pax groaned and searched his memory for a better description.

"He um, he has eight scars on his body. Two here--" He pointed at the right and left side of his collar and moved his hand down to his chest. "And Two here–"

"Oh him. Yes, he's on this floor."

"Which room?"

She eyed the gun warily before she replied. "Why, what are you going to do to him?"

"Nothing. I...I just need to find him." Pax replied, pouring all of his sincerity into his words.

He silently prayed she'd believe him, he really didn't want to use force on her.

"Room 245."

Paxton stared at her for a long time before he swallowed deeply and nodded.

"Vielen Dank." He said softly and turned around.

His vision wavered slightly and he groaned, immediately slamming his hand on a nearby table to steady himself. A painful headache was starting to form near the back of his skull and he forced himself to hold it together and get his head straight.

(Keep it together, he needs you. Josh needs you.)

"Are, are you okay?"

He grimaced and turned his head. "I'm fine."

He pushed off the table and started over towards the twin hallways. Because of his headache it was hard, damn near painful, for him to translate the german on the signs. He glanced over his shoulder and was relieved to see the nurse was still frozen to the spot.

"Which one?" He gestured to the halls with his gun.

"T-the left one." She replied, still gazing at him with a wary frown.

He nodded his thanks and went down the hall she pointed him to. His vision finally corrected it's self as he moved his feet along the tiled floor and he was able to read the numbers written on the wall next to each of the open rooms.

(243. 244. Yes, 245!)

His feet atomically stopped in front of the open doorway with numbers 245 etched into it's surface. The room was bare, except for one lone bed that had a few large machines anchored around it's side.

He stepped into the room, his eyes never leaving the dark outline of the figure lying in the bed as he neared it. Even from a distance, Pax could see the faint outline of Josh's wavy blonde hair and a deep, clamming wave of relief washed over him.

"Josh?" His voice cracked as he leaned over the railing covering the side of the bed. "Josh."

The figure in the bed was unresponsive so Paxton leaned closer. Josh's eyes were lightly closed and his breathing was soft, aided by the thin tube held under his nose. He gently reached down and touched Josh's arm, turning it slightly. The round holes on Josh's upper arm immediately grabbed his attention and Pax was relieved to see the medical staff had managed to seal them properly.

The rest of Josh's body was covered with a thin, white blanket so he wasn't able to see what the rest of the drill holes looked like or any of Josh's other wounds for that matter but he hoped they were treated and sealed up as well.

"Josh." He tried once more, shaking his friend's shoulder harder, hoping it would wake the other American up.

It didn't, Josh groaned sleepily but didn't stir.

(Shit. I'm in no shape to carry him either.)

"Josh. Come on man! Wake up–"

"Ach Gott, schießt bitte nicht!"

Pax jerked his head up as a loud shriek reached his ears from the hallway. The air died inside of his lungs and he quickly loaded his gun and slowly slid to the open doorway. He could hear the sounds of someone crying loudly and a deep male voice shouting in German.

(Oh god, the nurse.)

He stuck his head around the door and at the end of the hallway, he could see a large man dressed in black leather holding a gun at the frightened nurse he just spoke to moments ago. As his eyes focused on the man's bulk and bald head Pax quickly realized it was the same man who chased him inside the club and into the street before he was run over by the car.

Pax felt his eyes narrow and he quietly slipped into the hall, keeping close the side in order to stay out of the man's eyesight. The large Elite Hunting member was still yelling at the frightened woman loudly, so sneaking up behind him was remarkably easy. He was about ten feet away from his back when the man finally had enough and raised the gun, pointing it's barrel right at the nurses' heart. The woman screamed loudly and started pleading frantically in German.

Suddenly realizing what the man was about to do, Pax immediately raised his gun and with trembling fingers, pulled the trigger back. Two rounds tore from the gun's barrel, one 9mm bullet tearing through the flesh of the large man's neck while it's twin went through his head.

The nurse screamed and fell against the wall as the man holding a gun to her froze and toppled onto the floor loudly. Pax kept his gun aimed at the body until he was sure there wasn't any movement before he ran over to the frightened woman.

"Es ist in Ordnung, ist er tot." Pax yelled over her crying.

She was still shaking and crying loudly so Pax repeated his statement once again until she raised her head. Her eyes immediately went to man's dead body and then to Pax's face.

"You – thank you. Oh god, thank you!" She cried and threw her arms around him.

She damn near knocked Pax off his feet as she lunged at him, throwing her thin arms around his shoulders. Fully understanding what she was going through, Pax held her quietly for a few moments before he gently pulled her arms off.

"Is there anything you can do to make Josh wake up faster?"

She blinked and waited a few moments before she shakily replied. "It, it depends. I'll have to check and see what they have him on."

"Then do it, please." Pax barked.

"Why, what are you going--"

"Listen. That bastard was here looking for him." He yelled, pointed at the dead body with his gun. "If I don't get him out of here soon, more will come. Do want another one of them to come up here?"

"No." She whimpered and shook her head.

Guilt tugged at his heart painfully but Pax forced himself to ignore it. He really hated being this cruel to her but if he had to hold the gun to her head in order to help Josh he'd gladly do it.

"Then please help me. Find out what he's on and see if you can give him something to counter it."

The nurse nodded and slowly got to her feet and made her way over towards the nurses' station. Pax watched her shuffle through the large mountain of papers before he crawled over to the E.H. member's body.

He grimaced from the work the bullets did to the man's head and forced himself to retrieved the man's gun and searched him for any other weapons he might've been carrying. He didn't find any other weapons but his fingers did stumble across a leather bound wallet which Pax immediately seized and checked.

(Holy shit, this bastard was packing.)

Three credit cards, a handful of fake ID's and a pretty decent sized wad of money with a receipt from an ATM wedged in between a few bills. Other then those handy items, there wasn't much else, no photos are real ID on the fucker so Pax couldn't really bring himself to feel sorry to taking his life or any shame from shoving the wallet into his back pocket.

He glanced up when he heard her curse a few words in German as she knocked a stack of papers over and then moved his eyes back down to the E.H. member's body once again. First thing first, Josh would definitely need some clothes and this bastard wasn't going to need his anytime soon.

With shaky hands, he reached down and tugged hard on the back of the man' leather jacket; pulling the material off his shoulders roughly. He did the same with the rest of the man's clothing a moment later, grumbling mentally the entire time he did so.

When he finished, he got to his feet and glanced over at the nurse. She was still busy tearing through the charts at her station so Pax was forced to wait a few long minutes before she found a document and shuffled over to him.

"Alright, according to this, he's on more then one drug so I can't give him anything. You'll just have to wait for him to wake up on his own. Sorry."

"Shit. How long will that take?" Pax groaned, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"About an hour or two I think if I unplug the IV in the next few minutes."

(A fucking hour!)

He was tugging at his hair now. "Fuck. I don't have an hour. Is there another way out of here aside from the front entrance?"

"Just a few fire escapes but they set an alarm off if you open them."

Paxton gave a frustrated yell and kicked the wall behind him. He was trapped, he couldn't do anything. Well, he could do one thing, he could bolt out of the building by himself and pray that Josh would make it through the night without being discovered but he'd rather cut off the remaining fingers on his left hand instead.

After all, he didn't bother risking his life for Josh in order to throw him to the wolves at the first sign of trouble.

All he could do now was wait. Wait and pray...

"Is there a safe place I can take Josh until he wakes up, like an office or anything?"

"Yes." She nodded, her face turning grim from the distress written all over his face. "I'll help you move him."

He sighed and dropped his head. "Thank you."

---------------------

**Translations. **

1) "Was auf Erden...Bitte schießen Sie nicht!! " (What on earth... Please don't shoot!)

2) "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" (Do you speak English?)

3) "Vielen Dank." (Thank you.)

4) Ach Gott, schießt bitte nicht (Oh god, please don't shoot.)

5) Es ist in Ordnung, ist er tot. (It's okay, he's dead.)


	8. Chapter 8

Well, I finally sat saw Hostel, Part II last week, it was pretty good and it gave me tons of ideas so now my damn muse for this story won't shut up. Ugh.

**Chapter Eight**

Paxton sighed and rubbed his face for what had to be the tenth time in the past few minutes and continued pacing the length of the small room.

The nurse – he made a mental note to eventually ask for her name – had managed to find a small office on the fifth floor and together they to moved Josh's bed into it. He was alone for the moment because the nurse left to fetch a few things she would need for when Josh woke up and left, despite Pax's concerns.

Now he was left in the tiny room alone, twiddling his fingers until Josh finally woke up from his drug induced sleep and god only knew how much longer that would be; he'd already been in this small room for an hour and Josh still didn't look like he'd come around anytime soon.

He stopped pacing for the moment and glanced over at Josh's bed. The blonde was still in his deep sleep even though the nurse had taken him off most of his meds - she insisted keeping him on a few to help with the pain of his injuries and Pax really didn't have the heart to argue against it after eyeing the nearly healed drill holes on Josh's upper arms once again - and aside from an occasional moan and head turn, the other American showed no sign of awakening anytime soon.

Paxton released a deep sigh and sank down into one of the plush leather chairs near the office's wooden desk and let his eyes slid closed for a few moments. He was exhausted and wanted a few hours of sleep more then anything but the fear of being completely unaware of his surroundings and more Elite Hunting members finding him was more then enough to keep that need at bay for the moment. Instead, he let his eyes rest for a few moments, making sure his ears were perfectly alert and fully took advantage of his moment of rest.

After what felt like a few minutes, his ears picked a soft moan from Josh's area of the room and his eyes immediately opened. There was some movement from Josh's bed as the blonde turned his head from side to side and groaned quietly.

Paxton crossed the room and stood at the side of Josh's bed. His heart skipped slightly from the sight of Josh's eyes moving under their closed lids, signaling that the blonde wasn't too far away from awareness.

(Finally, thank god.)

"Josh."

Josh's eyes slowly opened a short moment later, at first they were foggy and hazed but they eventually focused.

"Josh." He spoke a little louder, silently praying that Josh would be aware enough to recognize him.

"Pax?"

Pax felt his heart start to beat normally again from the tiny whisper of his name. "Yeah, It's me buddy."

Josh turned his head in Paxton's direction and his eyes turned watery.

"You're okay...I was scared."

Pax felt himself smile grimly and leaned closer. "I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

Josh's eyes closed for a moment and then opened again and moved around their surroundings slowly.

"W-where am I?" Josh asked in a quivering voice.

Pax immediately recognized the meaning of Josh's uneasiness. "It's alright Josh, you're safe. You're in a hospital."

"A hospital? How did – Mmh." Josh's question was interrupted by a pained groan as he shifted in the bed.

"Easy, you're still hurt pretty bad."

Josh moaned once again and closed his eyes. "Hurts..."

"I know, just hang on for–"

The door knob to the office jingled slightly and Paxton spun on his heel and rested his hand near one of the guns in his belt. The lock jingled as a key was inserted into it and a moment later, the nurse entered carrying a small, open box under her arm that looked like it was crammed full of items.

"Sorry, it took a while to find everything. These are for you." She said, struggling to find the right words in English and pulled a small bottle from the box she was holding. "They should help... your hand."

Paxton eyed her closely before he nodded and took the small bottle as he held it out to him, tucking it into his front pocket.

"Thanks."

She gave him a smile and turned her gaze towards the Josh's bed and did a double take when she saw a pair of confused blue eyes staring back at her.

"Oh...he's awake?"

"Yeah, he just came too a few seconds ago." Paxton replied and glanced over at Josh once again. "He's in a lot of pain, is there anything you can give him?"

"Yes...um, just give me a moment." She moved back to her carrier and started shifting through its contents.

More shuffling sounds came from Josh's bed as the American tried to get himself to sit upright and Paxton quickly rushed to his side to help; looping his arm under Josh's shoulders to haul the blonde upright. Josh groaned quietly as he was moved but despite the pain coursing through his body, he was able to sit almost upright without falling over.

Pax lingered at his side for a moment, making sure Josh wouldn't fall off the side of the bed before he turned towards the nurse. She was still shuffling things around in her carrier and after a long moment, she turned and walked towards them carrying two small items in her hand; a small vile of thick, clear liquid and a syringe, which Josh's immediately caught sight of.

Paxton instantly saw the fear in his friend's eyes and was quick to try and sooth him. "It's okay Josh; it'll help with the pain."

Josh remained silent, still eyeing the needle as the nurse neared him. His trembling fingers reached for Pax's left arm and the other man let the blonde hold his arm firmly; he refused to let Josh touch his hand for fear the sight of his missing fingers would only startle the other American further.

"He will need to relax or it will hurt more." The nurse warned as she lightly touched Josh's arm and started cleaning it for the injection.

The fingers around Paxton's shoulder were still shaking but Josh actually managed to still most of his body at her command and squeezed his eyes shut. He jerked and whimpered slightly as the needle was pushed into his skin but the pained sounds soon went silent until the needle was removed.

"There. It will start working in a while."

Pax gave her another grateful nod and moved his gaze back towards Josh who was now rubbing the soreness out of his arm.

"Is there anything else he needs?" She asked as she started shifting things around in her carrier.

Pax gazed at Josh once more and approached her in ear-length. "He needs an inhaler, I don't know what kind he needs but–"

"I can write him a prescription and you can figure it out later."

"Thank god, can you please do that?" Pax asked.

"Yes, I'll have to leave again to get a notice but it should only take me a moment."

Once again, Pax gave her a grateful nod. "Thank you – damn, I never got your name."

"Jana." She replied as she neared the door again. "And you're welcome."

With a soft smile, she unlatched the door and left the room once again. Pax watched her leave and locked the door behind her.

"Pax?"

He turned at the sound of his name and was met with the sight of Josh's blue eyes again.

"What's going on?"

"They found us."

Josh stared at him blankly but the meaning of Paxton's words quickly sunk in.

"What? They-they found us?" Fear, shock and outright terror flashed inside of Josh's blue gems and Pax could actually see Josh's skin paling.

His heart lurched painfully at the sight of his friend's fear and Pax immediately felt his protectiveness for Josh once again sink in.

"They're not going to get us again. I swear. I got you some clothes and we have some money–" Pax crossed the room and gathered up the clothing he picked out for the blonde. "If we leave now we'll stand a better chance of not being seen."

Josh stared at the dark clothing Pax offered and after a quiet moment, he took them and Pax turned away, keeping his back to his friend in order for Josh to change. He kept himself busy by pulling out the wallet he swiped from the E.H. member he killed and began counting the bills stuffed inside of it before curiosity got the better of him and he glanced over his shoulder at Josh.

The blonde was currently in the middle of undoing the top of the hospital gown he was wearing. Once the thin cloth was unbuttoned, Pax finally got a look at the rest drill holes for the first time, they were patched and filled with a light coloring of skin that was paler then Josh's own color. They still looked horrid and ghastly but at least they were treated properly, he just hoped that the rest of Josh's injuries were looked at as well.

Suddenly, he felt ashamed for staring at Josh that way and turned his head, his eyes moving towards the door when he heard footsteps outside of the room's door. They were too heavy to be nurses' and in a heart beat Pax signaled for Josh to be still and rested his hand over one of the guns in his belt.

The doorknob started to turn but the latch on the door kept it from opening and the person on the other side of the door soon grew frustrated and frantically pulled on the knob with a loud curse. Pax felt himself pale from the sound of the person's voice; it belonged to the man who he saw in the halls, near the elevator – Petraki's accomplice.

Josh stilled as he caught sight of his friend's rigidness and Pax quietly crossed the room towards him, his eyes never leaving the door.

"_Didn't Nat give you the key to this damn room?"_

A second voice soon joined Petraki's accomplice, this one also male with a heavy English roll to his words.

"_No, she couldn't give me the keys to this floor 'cause it's not her level. We'll have to find one on duty."_

"_Bloody hell."_ The first voice growled and a heavy foot kicked the door heavily.

The two sets of footsteps soon echoed on other side of the door as the two men headed down the hall and when he couldn't hear them anymore, Pax let out the breath he was holding.

"Shit. We need to leave, before they come back."

Next to him, Josh nodded with a tiny whimper and finished dressing as quick as he could. Pax remained by the door, keeping his ears trained for the sounds of footsteps and when a full minute passed by without any sounds, Pax quietly unlocked the door and cracked it open wide enough to peak out.

The hallway was empty and quiet so Paxton motioned for Josh to hurry up. The blonde finished doing up his shoes a moment later and Pax checked both ends of the hall up and down before they left the room. Josh fallowed behind him nervously, his eyes darting back and forth as they snuck down the deserted hallway

Paxton searched his memory and recalled the path he took from the elevators to the office and directed the two of them towards the nurse's station. Josh fallowed him silently, pulling the large leather jacket tighter around his chest in a nervous manner. Pax glanced at him momentarily but his attention was soon diverted when they rounded the corner towards the nurse's station and his eyes caught a glimpse at a less then hopeful sight.

Three people were standing around the station, two of them male – one was Petraki's accomplice while the other one was a man he'd never seen before– and the other was a woman dressed in white nurse's outfits. All three of them were staring down at the body of the Elite Hunting member that Pax had gun down less then an hour before and as soon as his brain started working again, Pax grabbed Josh's arm and pulled them both behind the corner and out of their eye sight.

"I tell you Terry, that kid's a decent shot, sure he's just a college student?"

Pax glanced around the corner, one of the men was crouched in front of the body and looked the bullet wounds over; his voice still held a rough English accent to it and from the distance, Pax could see short brown hair with a few grey streaks near the roots. The man also wore a long jacket like his partner with white lettering sewn on its back and sleeve which Pax couldn't read because of the distance.

"Aye, must've been the same kid that stole Remy's gun." The second man replied, nudging the body with his foot, his thick Irish voice making the hairs on the back of Paxton's neck stand up. "You sure there's only two of them?"

The man directed his attention to the woman behind him who eyed the body warily.

"Yes. Are you sure this was done by them, Paxton doesn't seam the type to do something like this?"

Upon hearing his name, Pax stuck his head out farther and gasped silently when he got a good look at the nurse; it was Natalie, the nurse who tended to him when he first woke up.

(Fuck...)

"Pax?" Josh whispered as he saw his friend grow tense.

Pax motioned for him to be quiet and strained his ears in order to hear more.

"What was the kid's name again?" The man crouching on the floor asked, looking over his shoulder at the group.

"Paxton." Natalie replied. "Terry, do you really think hunting them like this is a good idea?"

The one she addressed as Terry, the large one with the Irish accent, shook his head. "Nat, in case you haven't noticed, we're not the only ones running around this damned place right now. I'll be damned if anyone gets to them but me."

Natalie pursed her lips and turned her head; her eyes moved down the hall and froze when she saw she was being watched.

"Terry."

The large Irishman looked up and his eyes locked with Paxton's once again.

"Shit." Pax cursed and dug one of the guns out of his belt. "Josh go."

He gave the blonde a tiny shove with his knee and aimed his gun down the hall as he saw the men quickly running towards them. He pulled the trigger and fired one shot at the corner, the bullet snapping against the wall, not anywhere close to hitting the two men but good enough to make them duck back around the corner.

Thankful that he bought them some time, Pax sprung to his feet and fallowed Josh down the hall. He had no fucking idea where the hell they were going or if there was another way down to the ground floor but none of that mattered at the moment. He could hear the two men chasing him, their feet echoing loudly against the tiled floor.

Josh slid to a stop a few feet in front of him pointed towards his right.

"Stairs."

Pax halted at his side when he saw a lone metal door with 'Stairs' written on its face in both English and German. Without wasting another moment of precious time, he grabbed Josh's hand and pulled him towards the door. Luckily the knob was unlocked and Pax almost ripped the thing off its hinges as he pulled it open. He slammed it closed behind them and looked around for anything he could use to block the door. His eye saw a broom propped up against the wall and grabbed it, wedging it against the door and the railing of the stair case.

When he was satisfied with it, he signaled for Josh to start down the long passage of stairs and he fallowed closely behind. As they reached the third level, he could hear loud pounding against the door and forced himself to move faster.

They reached the ground floor a short time later, both men where completely out of breath by then but they forced themselves through the door regardless. Pax thought about blocking the second door as well but realized he didn't have the time or the energy to do so, instead he grabbed Josh's arm once again and led them down the hall closest to them. He glanced at a few signs they passed, hoping one of them would point out the direction to the main entrance. The fifth one they came upon signaled the entrance was on Pax's left a few halls down and after pointing it out to Josh, both of them hastily speed towards it.

Two large, glass doors came into view less then a full second later and before Pax could breathe a relieved sigh, Josh froze to a stop at his side, forcing Paxton to skid to a halt as well.

"What?"

Josh swallowed and pointed at something in front of them, making Paxton crane his neck in order to see it. Another duo of men were near the double doors, one was hunched forwards in one of the lobby's chairs, his dark bangs making his face nearly impossible to see while the second one was standing behind him, lightly feeling the back of the other's head.

"Damn, that kid did a number on you." The second man replied, shaking his head. "Terry warned you not to go wandering around on your own."

Pax frowned as the man's voice reached his ears, it sounded almost... American. His clothing almost identical to the two men upstairs, but unlike the rest of them, he was slightly smaller with wavy blonde hair that stuck out the sides of his backwards hat.

"Yeah, yeah. How was I supposed to guess the brat was armed?" The man in the chair replied, his voice dark and chillingly familiar and raised his head.

Pax nearly fell over at the sight of the man's face; it was Petraki.

"Shit, how many of them are there?" Pax squeaked and pressed both of them closer to the wall.

Josh huddled close to him fearfully, his eyes never leaving the two men. "What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know."

He held up his hand, signaling for Josh to be quiet and listened once again when the two men started talking again.

"Well, the good new is your going to live. He obviously bonked you on the head pretty good but nothing feels serious." The one with the American accent said, removing his hands from Petraki's head.

"Terrific." Petraki grumbled as he reached inside of his long jacket and pulled out a small carton of what looked like cigarettes. "Terry find them yet?"

"Apparently not, otherwise he would've called us."

Pax watched them for another moment before he turned his head towards Josh. "We need to find another way out."

Josh nodded as they moved back into the labyrinth of hallways once again. Pax's eyes moved around the walls constantly, looking for another way out. Many long, tense moments passed as the two Americans roamed through the silent halls. Josh was in the lead with Pax trailing a few feet behind him, his mind trying to think of any exits he would've seen on the way.

A loud voice yelling words in German quickly grabbed Paxton's attention and in the blink of an eye, he reached forwards and pulled Josh close to him. The blonde gasped slightly and huddled as close to Pax as he could when the voice filled the halls once again. It echoed from the hall off towards their left and the two American's crouched down to the floor and inched closer to the corner.

In the middle of the hallway laid a man dressed in black leather, the same kind the E.H. member rotting on the fifth floor wore, and circling around him with a gun was the same large man Pax remembered seeing on the fifth floor; Terry.

"You know, I gota hand it to you lads, you're much tougher then ya look." The Irishman mocked and kicked the man's arm slightly, sending a gun out of the Elite Hunting member's reach.

The wounded man wheezed and mumbled a few words in German as he tried reaching for his gun. Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth and judging from the way he was crawling, Pax assumed he'd been shot, more then likely from the Irishman who was now taunting him.

"Sorry lad, don't speak German but I'm willing to bet you just called me a few less then polite names." The second man crouched down closer. "Now did you really think you'd get to those boys before me?"

The one on the floor mumbled something darkly before he was kicked onto his back by the man holding the gun.

"How many of you are runnin' around 'ere?"

"Zwei." The man replied.

"In English." The other barked, placing his foot down on the man's shoulder firmly.

"Two."

"Just the two of you? I'm disappointed, for how much they're worth I figured they'd at least send a large group of you to fetch 'em. You know one of your little targets killed your partner. "

The man's eyes flared and he groaned a long string of words, most of them drowned out by his harsh breathing. His arm tried reaching for the gun once again and the man standing over him sighed loudly and raised his own weapon. A silencer was screwed on the end of the gun's barrel and a quick snapping sound soon filled the hall as the trigger was pulled.

Josh gasped loudly from the sound and Pax wasn't fast enough to cover the blonde's mouth before the noise escaped. In a full panic, Pax glanced around the corner and saw the man staring down the hall at them.

"Fuck..."

In the blink of an eye, Pax shot to his feet and pulled Josh up with him and together both men bolted down the hallway lading away from the man. His footsteps echoed loudly behind them, causing both Americans to speed up their pace greatly. As they rounded another corner, a grey, metal door came into their vision and Pax felt himself breathe for what felt like the first time in hours.

He tried pushing on the door's handle but the bar felt like it was jammed. After screaming a loud curse he took a few steps back and rammed his shoulder head on into it. The impact loosened the door a little and seeing the result Pax did it again and again until the door sprang open.

"Go!"

He pushed Josh out the door first and fallowed close behind him as a loud, beeping alarm soon filled the hall. The door led them into a small parking area that connected to a small street lit by very few lamps. Under the cover of darkness, both Americans sped through the lot and across the street before ducking behind a small line of buildings.

"Pax I need to stop." Josh wheezed as slid to a halt.

His breath was once again coming in short, harsh pants so Pax didn't argue, his legs also coming to a stop a few feet away.

(Shit, we didn't get his inhaler.)

He tore his gaze away from Josh and glanced behind him at the empty lot, sighing relieved when he didn't see anything moving, meaning they weren't being chased.

However, just when he felt himself relax somewhat, a tiny bit of movement in front of him caught his eye. His heart moved back up into his throat and he rested his hand on the gun once again as several small shadows loomed around them. Josh saw them as well and stepped closer to him, his shoulders shaking slightly.

"Dollar!" One of the tiny shadows barked.

Pax frowned and leaned forwards, studying the tiny shadow closely and his heart move back inside of his chest when he saw it was a group of small children, the same children that cornered him and Josh multiple times during their stay at the hellish hostel.

"Dollar!" The tiny boy demanded once again.

With a wary glance over his shoulder, Pax reached for the wallet in his back pocket and opened the money pouch. His thumb brushed over a red colored banknote, its worth far more then a single dollar and pulled it out. He held the small scrap of paper in front of the child's eyes, waving it slightly.

"You want this?"

The boy eyed it closely before greedily nodding his head.

"You wanna earn it?"

Once again the boy nodded and held his arm out.

"Then don't let anyone besides us come down this alley. Understood?"

"No one but you." The boy repeated and pointed at the two of them.

"Good." Pax handed the bill to the boy and waited for the large gang of small aged crooks to part ways.

When they gave the two Americans an opening, Pax gently grasped Josh's hand once again and lead him down the dark pathway, not once looking over his shoulder at the hospital they just fled from.

----------------

Whew, this chapter damn near killed me. Read and Review please, don't make me bitch and moan now y'all.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the long delay, I've been sick. This chapter is kinda heart-wrenching so be ready with a tissue.

**Chapter Nine**

The thick blanket of darkness was all around them and Paxton was beginning to feel a little more then bothered by its thick depths. The streets were so dark that he wasn't able to see where they were heading or if anyone was around the two of them; he wasn't even able to see his hand no matter how close he held it to his face.

Josh stumbled along behind him, his body still slightly disoriented from the remaining medical drugs still coursing through his body. For most of their tread through the dark and deserted streets the blonde hadn't even uttered a single word and Pax normally would've worried about his silence but he had more important things to worry over at the moment; like where the hell they were.

After many long minutes of stumbling around in the darkness, Pax spied a few lit street lamps several yards ahead and immediately pulled Josh over towards them, hoping the light would be enough for him to see their surroundings better.

The alley opened to a dimly lit street paved with cobblestones and was lined with small shops made out of old bricks. Thankfully, the street was empty so Pax used the opportunity for both of them to catch their breaths.

He watched Josh closely out of the corner of his eye, making sure the blonde's breathing was normal before closely examining the shops surrounding them. There was a grocery and a what looked like a small clothing shop near the end of the street and as he moved his eyes farther down the street he saw a sign for an inn marked in German.

The lights inside the small building were lit and from the distance he could see movement in its windows, signaling the place was still open. Pax stared at the building for what felt like many minutes, debating if the small place would be worth the chance they'd have to take. Both of them were tired and exhausted beyond belief and they still had a decent sized amount of drugs still in they're systems so they wouldn't make it to far without rest but the problem was whether or not this place was trust worthy.

What if it was like that Hostel or what if the people working there were part of the company? After all, most the fucking town was in with those bastards.

Pax bit his lip and looked at their surroundings once again. He didn't have a clue what the time was he figured it was well past midnight, meaning nothing else was open and they'd be more vulnerable staying where they were.

After staring at the lonesome inn for a small stretch of minutes, Pax finally caved in and grasped Josh's hand once again.

"Come on."

Josh made a surprised sound behind him. "Where are we going?"

"There." Pax pointed towards the small inn.

"Why?"

"Because we're both doped out of our minds and exhausted. We won't make it vary far like this."

"But – but what if it's like that other place?"

Josh's fear cut into him deep but never the less, Pax kept moving towards the inn.

"Well at least we'll have a place to rest for a bit. If anything happens–" Pax pulled the hem of his jack up slightly, showing Josh the gun's he had wedged into his belt.

Josh went completely silent but fallowed obediently as they approached the small building. Pax glanced at him over his shoulder as he placed his hand on the door and gave Josh a reassuring look before he pulled it open.

The lobby was almost deserted with the exception of two elderly men sitting at a table near the front window who looked up when they're heard the door open. One of them smiled and nodded while his companion just stared with cold eyes at the two Americans.

Paxton gave them a forced nod and released Josh's hand as he padded over towards the front desk. The clerk was gone so Pax waited a few moments before he tapped the small bell resting on the wood. The small chime seamed to echo forever inside the lobby and a round man dressed in a plaid shirt soon emerged from the backroom.

"Ja?" The man barked as he leaned on the desk, his small beady eyes starting at the two Americans impatiently.

"I'd like a room please." Pax replied in a tired voice. "Ein Zimmer bitte."

The round man eyes him darkly for a moment. "20 korún."

His English was just rough and cold as his gaze, making Pax eye him carefully as he reached for the wallet he stole and dug out the amount requested. The man took the bills as he turned to the shelf behind him and tossed a small bronze key on the desk near Pax's hand.

"Second floor, down hall to stairs."

The American took the key almost instantly and motioned for Josh to fallow him as he started down the hall. The clerk's eyes fallowed the blonde the entire time with a sick, lustful glint that made Pax want to jab the small key in his hand right into the sick bastard's eyes.

His violent streak momentarily stunned him and before he could do something that would jeopardize their temporally safety, he grabbed Josh's arm and pulled him from the man's sight. Once again, Josh didn't fight him and judging from the paleness of his face, he must've seen how the other man was looking at him.

They climbed the old, wooden staircase the man had pointed out and after reading all of the numbers on the few rooms scattered on the floor, Pax found the numbers written on the key and unlocked the door to their room.

The room they were given was pretty decent and fairly large. It contained two small beds, a table and a small bathroom off to the side. The instant the two of them entered the room, Paxton locked the door and wedged the table against it a quick moment later. He didn't trust any of the strangers he saw in the lobby and didn't count on a simple dead bolt to keep them at bay, or any possible friends they had.

When that chore was done and Pax was satisfied the barrier would hold, he turned towards Josh. The blonde was standing in the middle of the room with a blank look on his face, his eyes watching Pax's every move carefully.

"We're safe for now." Pax said in an even voice and padded over towards on of the beds.

He pulled his shirt up and pulled both guns, the small bottle of pills the nurse at the hospital gave him for his hand and the switchblade from his belt and tossed them on the bed's surface and then sat down on the cushioned surface. Josh hesitantly did the same on the other bed, his arms immediately curling around his legs.

"Pax, what are we going to do now? Where are we gonna go?"

"I don't know Josh." Pax sighed as he moved his items onto the small night stand near his bed. "I don't know what the hell we're going to do. For the moment, we're gonna get some rest and in the morning we'll find a train station or something."

"To where?"

"Anywhere but here is fine." Pax replied as he flopped against his bed.

The softness of the mattress felt great against his battered body and within moments, Pax felt himself grow tired. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Josh roll on his side and curl his legs to his chest, laving his back turned to his friend.

Paxton watched him closely for a moment, his heart tightening painfully from the sight of Josh curling in on himself. A part of him felt like he should go over there and say something to him but he seriously doubted he could move because at the moment, all of his limbs felt heavy with sleep.

His eyes closed a second later and felt himself drift off into a quiet darkness.

---------------------------

After what felt like only a few seconds had passed, Pax felt himself drift back to full awareness. The room was still dark, signaling that it was still late in the night so he rolled onto his back and sleepily stretched his cramped limbs.

The silence in the air confused him and suddenly feeling something was wrong he turned his head towards Josh's bed only to find it was empty. After blinking a few times, a deep panic set in and he bolted upright.

Josh was gone! His eyes immediately flew towards the door and saw that it was closed, the bolt was in place and the desk was still jammed against its frame, meaning the room wasn't entered while he slept.

A thin sheen of light was coming from the direction of the bathroom so Pax swung his legs to the floor and headed in its direction, the floor creaking under his feet as he moved. As he entered the doorway the first thing his eyes saw was the source of the light came from a small bulb above the bathroom sink, casting a faint bronze light inside the tiny space. The second thing he saw was Josh huddled in the far corner, near the bathtub.

"Josh?"

Josh didn't even move or raise his head when he heard his name and that frightened him tremendously so Pax took the initiative to move closer. Josh's legs were pulled tightly against his chest, with his arms tucked in-between them. His head rested against the point of his knee and his eyes stared at the wall across from him with a cold, far away look.

"Josh?" He tired once again, gently touching the blonde's shoulder with his hand.

The blonde flinched from his touch but Josh didn't say anything or even turn his head. As he looked down, Pax saw the switchblade he set on the night stand laying on the floor with a tiny, dark red stain on its blade.

"Dammit Josh, what the hell did you do?" Pax yelled in a full panic as he lunged forwards and grabbed both of Josh's arms, immediately turning them over and checking both his wrists.

Thankfully the skin on the blonde's arms was untouched and scar free and Pax heaved a deep, heavy sigh of relief. God, if Josh actually did anything he honestly wouldn't know what he would've done.

He picked the knife up off the floor and eyed the stain closely. It looked fresh and was only put there recently so Pax took a few moments to gather himself before he moved himself directly in front of Josh, giving the blonde no choice but to look right at him.

"Josh, did you cut yourself?" He asked, keeping his voice even as he placed the knife out of his reach.

For a few seconds, Pax didn't receive an answer and was about to question the blonde again when Josh raised his head slightly.

"Just my finger." Josh replied numbly and held out his hand.

In the dim light, Pax could definitely see a tiny cut on his index finger and relief quickly washed over Pax in a calming wave when he saw how small it was. His relief was shattered a moment later when he heard Josh speak once more.

"I can still feel him; I can still feel him hurting me."

At first, Pax didn't understand what the blonde was talking about until the full meaning of the words sunk in and before the dread could completely overwhelm him, he moved towards the sink and wetted a nearby cloth with warm water to clean the small cut.

"This isn't the answer Josh." Pax growled over his shoulder, jerking his head in the direction of the knife.

Behind him, Josh inhaled sharply. "Easy for you to say, it didn't happen to you!"

The words cut him deep and Pax slowly turned his head. Josh wasn't even looking at him, his eyes were on the floor near his feet but Pax didn't need to see them to know they were starting to water.

"Josh–"

His voice died when a deep whimper tore from Josh's mouth.

"I can still feel him. I can still feel his hands...I can feel them touching me."

Pax felt the air leave his lungs when Josh's words fully sunk in. Horrible, sickening images started filling his head of what tortures the sobbing creature huddled in front of him had to endure. He remembered the way he found Josh inside the factory, bloodied and curled in a corner trying to hide from the man in the room.

He swallowed deeply and knelt in front of Josh once again. "He's dead Josh. He won't hurt you anymore."

Josh sniffed and shook his head. "No he's not."

"Yes he is." Pax leaned closer, gently setting his arms on Josh's shoulder. "I shot him remember. He's dead."

"No he's not. That wasn't him." More tears fell from Josh's eyes. "That man hurt me too but not as bad and _he_ did."

Pax felt his brain power on from Josh's statement and he searched his memories. Almost immediately he remembered Josh's words when he they first escaped the factory, when he was trying to clean up his wounds.

(Oh shit... that sick fuck we met on the train.)

Thick, black rage started pooling inside of his chest once again from the visual image of the tiny Dutch man. He was the one who used the drill, the first one who raped Josh. He couldn't help but feet ashamed that he completely forgot about Josh's earlier confession even though no one would blame him after the events that happened to them afterwards but that didn't stop his anger from completely taking control of him.

Before he could stop himself, his fist slammed hard into the wall of the tub, sending sharp pains up his arm but Pax was too far gone in Josh's pain to feel them.

(How can someone do that to him?)

Ignoring the pain in his hand, Pax tightened his arms around Josh, hoping the blonde would take the offered support. Josh curled against him almost instantly, burying his face in the neck of Pax's shirt as more tears started falling down his cheeks.

He had to re-anchor himself against the cracked tile of the bath as Josh's full weight fell against him but never the less; he tightly wound his arms around Josh's shaking shoulders and forced himself to remain completely silent as Josh sobbed heavily into his shoulder.

"He cut me first...with the drill right after I first woke up." Josh whispered painfully into his shirt. "It hurt, god it hurt so much, and he enjoyed it. He fucking enjoyed it!"

(I'm gonna kill that bastard.)

"It's alright Josh." Pax replied, softly rubbing his hand up and down his friend's back.

Josh didn't flitch away this time and fully welcomed Pax's comfort, burrowing deeper into his arms. His skin felt cold and Pax tried to cover most of Josh's frame with arms, trying to rub some warmth into him.

"He was laughing the entire time... after I begged him to stop, he said he'd let me go if I did what he asked–"

"It's okay Josh." Pax soothed, disparity hoping Josh wouldn't say anymore.

"His fingers hurt the most, that's what made me bleed...he used his nails to scratch me."

Pax bit his lip and slammed his head against the tub. He silently prayed Josh was done because he honestly couldn't bear to hear anymore but a part of him knew Josh needed him to listen. Besides, at the rate these things were pouring out of his friend's mouth, he didn't think Josh would stop anytime soon. So for Josh's sake, he remained silent, as he continued chewing on his lower lip and rubbing his friend's back..

"It's alright Josh. It's over now."

"I tried to fight him but he hurt me so much–"

"You lived through it, that's the important thing–"

"He forced me to talk to him the whole time, he made me beg for it."

(Jesus Christ...)

"Josh–"

"I wish he would've just killed me."

Those last few words were Pax's undoing.

"Fuck Josh, don't say that."

"I wish he did. Instead he left and they just gave me to the other one." Josh whispered darkly, his voice muffled by Pax's shoulder.

Pax felt his stomach do a full turn. "They?"

Josh sniffed loudly and took a few deep breaths before he answered. "After he left, some people appeared. One was a woman – god she looked like something out of a fucking nightmare – and she brought the other guy in and then they left me alone with him."

Paxton's eyes slowly slid closed as he swallowed painfully. He didn't want to see the images that played out inside his head from Josh's words so he forced them away. The air around him was filled with silence, meaning that Josh had stopped crying so Pax opened his eyes and looked down at him.

Josh was still clinging to him tightly but his crying had finished for the moment. His face was flushed with color and eyes were bright red and Pax felt himself sigh mentally from the sight.

"Here come on, let's get you off the floor."

He moved his arms lower under Josh's shoulders and gently lifted the blonde off the floor. Luckily Josh helped and when they were both upright, Pax directed him back towards the bedroom.

"Did you get any sleep?"

Josh shook his head against his chest. "No."

"Try to get some rest okay, while we have a chance." Pax replied softly as he directed him towards the beds.

He sat Josh down on the edge of the closest bed and tried to uncurl the arms from around his chest but the motion only caused Josh to whimper and tighten his grip.

"Josh–"

"Don't leave me alone."

"Josh, come on–"

"Please!"

The fearful plea cut right into Pax's heart and he sighed deeply. "Alright, fine."

With Josh's arms still around him, he crawled onto the small bed with the blonde who immediately curled against him and buried his face in Pax's shoulder. His breath was coming in quick bursts which meant he was crying once again so Paxton moved his arm around Josh's shoulders once again and held the sobbing American tightly against his chest once more.

"It's alright Josh." He whispered softly. "It's alright, your safe."

(For now at least... I don't even want to think about tomorrow.)

The blonde's red eyes finally closed a short time later and Pax watched his friend nod off and become dead weight against his shoulder before he allowed his own eyes to drift closed, fully welcoming the empty darkness that greeted him.


	10. Chapter 10

Big, BIG thanks to Animegirl1129 for betaing this for me.

**Chapter Ten**

Early morning light finally shone through the small room's window and Paxton's eyes opened shortly afterwards. The grubby room was slowly starting to fill with light and Pax gently stretched his cramped limbs.

The second he moved his left hand, tremendous pain shot up his arm from his fingers and a choked yelp tore from his dry mouth. He tried to sit up but he was held to the spot by what felt like a pair of arms so he just rolled onto his side and held his hand tightly to his chest with a pained whimper.

Tears were gathering at the edges of his closed eyes as the pain stretched from seconds into minutes and he was forced to ride through it until it dimmed enough for him to think straight. A ringing sound filled his ears afterwards that was only broken by the sound of a few pained sobs coming from his own mouth.

Something large and warm was pressed tightly against his back and without really knowing why, Pax found himself leaning into it, letting it wrap around him and letting it take his mind off the pain. Within seconds, he felt his body calm down and the room stopped spinning under his closed eyelids and the throbbing pain in his head lessened greatly.

When he found the strength too, he slowly opened his eyes waited for them to focus on his surroundings. His eyes instantly darted down to his hand, eyeing the tiny stumps of his ring and pinky finger that had been sawed off.

(The painkillers must've worn off. Damn.)

Cradling his hand to his chest, Pax tried to sit up but found he was unable to. He felt himself panic slightly from the fear of being held down again but he managed to calm himself enough to glance at what was pinning him to the bed. A pair of arms where loosely wrapped around his waist and the heavy warmth was still held against his back.

He glanced over his shoulder and found Josh still curled in the same spot Pax laid him down in with his eyes lightly closed. Being as gentle and silent as he could, Pax untangled Josh's arms and scooted the edge of the bed once he was free.

His eyes immediately went to the night stand and he reached for the small container of pills the nurse gave him for his hand, swearing loudly when he couldn't unscrew the lid. Growing frustrated, he threw the bottle to the floor and used his foot to hold it still and used his good hand to twist the top off.

After fishing out two pills he swallowed them dry and held his hand against his chest until the drug took effect and the pain went away. The thickness in his head faded several minutes later and Pax was able to sit upright and think clearly. His hand never hurt that much, well it did when his fingers were first cut off but other then that none of the other feelings came close.

(Must've been the way it was stitched up or something. Should've stolen some damn morphine.)

His gaze was drawn towards the window as more light begin to fill the room and saw some movement along the street. Some of the shop owners were opening their doors and small groups of people begin to line the street.

He eyed the shops near the inn and upon seeing the clothing tailor and grocery where open he felt himself reach for the wallet on the night stand and counted the remaining bills. He was starving and more then likely Josh was too and they needed some new clothes because there was no way he was gonna tolerate wearing the ones he found at the hospital any longer because they were seriously starting to stink.

Just as he was about to close the wallet his eyes caught a glimpse at something tucked away in one of the leather folds and his fingers were quick to investigate, pulling out two small, white business cards a moment later.

_Elite Hunting_

The sight of the black lettering made his blood run cold but he honestly didn't feel surprised, after all he lifted the wallet from one of those fuckers. He eyed the lettering for another moment before he noticed some writing on the other end and turned the card over. As he read the scratchy handwriting, he felt his heart move up into his throat and he almost dropped the card.

_Joshua Patrick Ryan_

_$30,000_

(What the fuck?)

Fearfully he turned the other card over and swallowed painfully.

_Brandon Robert Paxton_

_$50,000_

(Holy shit.)

His heart now felt like it was moving into his stomach and Pax instantly started feeling sick. They knew their names, those fuckers knew exactly who him and Josh were and what was worse, they now had a price on their heads; a large one.

(Fuck no wonder those assholes were tracking us. How many more are gonna show up?)

A soft groan pulled his mind back into the present and Pax jumped from the sound and quickly tucked the cards into his pocket and out of sight. Behind him, Josh was slowly stirring and Pax turned just in time to see the blonde's eyes sleepily open.

"Pax?"

"Hey, mornin'." Paxton said softly, trying to keep the fear out of his voice when he spoke.

Josh blinked a few times and groaned loudly as he tried to sit up. The sound was small and pained; it tore right into Pax's heart and almost instantly he knew the morphine had worn off on Josh as well. He didn't even want to imagine the pain and discomfort that tore through the blonde's body.

Josh curled back into a ball a moment later and closed his eyes with a small whimper. The sight was more then Pax could take at the moment so he reached down and picked the small bottle of pills off the floor.

"Here, I don't know if these will help but it's all we've got." He mumbled softly and held two white pills near Josh's hand.

At first, Josh's eyes didn't open so Pax set his hand on Josh's shoulder and rubbed it gently, hoping the small gesture helped sooth his friend. He was relieved to feel the warmth back in Josh's skin and felt a tiny flutter in his stomach as he remembered feeling Josh's warmth pressed against him when he first woke up and he remembered the comfort he felt from it.

Sure enough, Josh his eyes and stared the pills in Pax's hand before he gently took them. Pax slid off the bed and quietly padded into the bathroom, looking for something that would hold a small amount of water for Josh to take the pills with. He found an old, cracked cup near the sink and even though it's sight disgusted him, he filled it halfway with water from the tap and moved back into the main room.

Josh was right where he left him curled on the bed with one of his hands gripping the bedding under him tightly while the other clutched the two pills he was giving. His eyes were squeezed shut once again but they opened when he heard Pax's footsteps.

"This was all I could find, don't put your mouth it." Pax said softly as he sat down on the edge of the bed once again, holding the mug in Josh's eye sight.

The blonde stared at it silently for a while and then started inching towards it. He needed Pax's help to sit upright enough to get the pills and water down his throat, even though he needed his friend's help with that as well.

When the dead was done Pax pulled the cup away and set it on the night stand before turning back towards Josh who was now hugging his knees tightly to his chest.

"They should start working in a bit. Other then all that you feeling okay?"

Josh nodded blankly but didn't say anything as he stared down at the rumpled bedding under him. Pax watched him and sighed mentally, hating the thick silence that settled between them. While he wasn't a hundred percent sure what caused Josh's silence he did have a pretty good guess.

"Josh listen, about last night–"

"I'm sorry."

Pax frowned. "What?"

"I'm sorry for saying those – for talking about it. I know you didn't want to hear about it." Josh said numbly.

Pax felt himself grow numb for a few moments. That last statement hurt him much more then any part of Josh's tearful rambling from the during previous night. If he was honest with himself he would've preferred it if Josh hadn't said anything at all about what happened to him during his captivity because he felt he'd witnessed enough when he charged into that damned room after hearing Josh's screams to piece together what had happened. But now that he heard his friend's confession he couldn't stop his brain from coming up with scenarios to match Josh's words and most of them sickened him greatly.

"It's fine, Josh. Don't worry about it." He lied and moved his gaze back towards the window once again. "We should leave soon."

Once again, Josh nodded silently; his eyes never left the bedding, not even when Pax rose from the bed and moved towards the night stand.

"Still sore?" The darker haired American asked over his shoulder as he shoved both guns and the small bottle of pills into his back pocket.

"A little." Came the tiny answer.

Paxton glanced at him as he turned and headed towards the bathroom once again, this time to retrieve the knife from where he left it during the night.

"Think you'll be able to move about?"

"Think so."

He returned to the main room a moment later with the knife contained in his front pocket. "Good because we need to do a few things before we find a train station."

Josh finally raised his head. "Like what?"

Pax approached the bed again and held out his hand, motioning for Josh to take it. "One, we need some new clothes because I'm not wearing these damn things for much longer. And two, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"M'kay." Josh mumbled as he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

His fingers touched the skin of Pax's left arm and then slowly slid down towards his hand as the blonde tried to curl his thin fingers around the two remaining digits on the hand. Pax startled when he felt it and instantly moved Josh's fingers to his normal one.

He didn't want Josh to fully see the damage done to his left hand, after all, he'd been through enough already. After grabbing the key for the room and pulling the desk back in it's original place they left the room and descended down the stairs. The lobby was empty and still dark because the window shades were still down and the desk clerk was no where to be seen. Pax tossed the key on the front desk and eyed the empty space warily before he pulled Josh towards the front door.

(Where the hell is everyone, it's not that early.)

He shook his head and pushed the front door open, ignoring the jingle the bell above the door made and stepped out into the bright morning sun. The street looked much different in the day light, the cobble stones were a deep brown color and the many shops where lined with the same color bricks.

(First thing's first...)

He tugged lightly on Josh's hand and directed him over towards the small clothing store a few short yards away. The door was propped open and the air inside the shop was cool as they stepped inside. Almost instantly, Pax started tearing through the racks looking for anything that would fit the two of them.

Josh stayed by his side the entire time, hardly leaving Pax's side as he was drug throughout the length of the shop. It only took a few minutes before Pax had a decent sized armload of clothing and as he made his way towards the front counter he spotted a few backpacks lining the back wall and he stopped to grab one.

Josh lingered near the shelf for a moment, eyeing the items on display and Pax felt a chuckle rise in his throat when he saw what the blonde was looking at.

"If you so much as touch that fany pack I'll smack you."

Josh's head snapped up and for a moment, Pax feared he startled him, but his fears were quickly dashed away when Josh's lower lip curved into a slight smile.

"Shut up."

The grin increased and for a moment, Pax swore he felt his heart stop from the sight and all of the fear and pain from the past few days seamed to disappear for the moment. With the except of the small tingles of pain coming from his left hand, things almost felt like they did a week ago when the two of them were in Amsterdam... almost.

He shook his head a moment later and made his way towards the front of the shop. A small elderly woman sat behind the main counter, her sharp eyes watching the two Americans closely as they moved throughout her store. She straightened up as they neared the counter and started folding the items Pax tossed on the counter.

She mumbled the total in German and Pax fished out the amount in bills and set them on the counter as he gathered his purchases up. He motioned for Josh to follow him as he moved towards the exit and the blonde's footsteps echoed behind him as they left the store.

Pax immediately pulled Josh off to a corner and started shoving the clothing in the backpack, along with his guns and medication; he decided to keep the knife on him, just in case. He kept a single pair of gloves out and slid them over his hands, puffing up the ring and pinky finger of the left one in order to conceal his hand. When he was finished, he slung the straps around his shoulders and reached for Josh's hand again.

"Come on, let's get some food and then we'll find a way out of this fucked up place."

Josh was about to nod but his eyes darted towards something over Pax's shoulder and his face instantly paled. "Pax."

Paxton turned and fallowed Josh's gaze back towards the inn and his entire body froze. Standing near the front door of the small hotel was the dirty desk clerk that gave them their room along with two large men dressed in black leather. Almost immediately after recognizing the typical uniform of the Elite Hunting members, Pax grabbed Josh's arm and pulled them into the grimly ally behind the clothing store; hoping the men didn't see them.

"I think we've been here long enough." Pax whispered and looked the alleyway up and down and upon seeing that it joined the street once again a short ways down, pulled Josh towards it.

Halfway down the pathway, he could see cars moving up and down the street and as they stepped into the street from the shadows he could see several cabs lining the side of the street.

(Thank god, that'll make things much easier.)

He moved towards the closest green car and tapped against the side window to get the driver's attention.

"Ja!" The man sitting the driver's seat barked.

His voice was rough and scratchy and his appearance was ragged and when he leaned closer to the passenger's side window Pax got a clear look at his face and felt his shoulders tighten greatly; it was the same guy that drove the three of them to the Hostel when they first arrived here.

(Will the fucking Twilight Zone moments ever stop? God.)

"Train station. Now." Pax replied as he pulled the back door open and shoved Josh inside the car's cabin.

The driver spun his head around. "Are you yanks blind, I'm not working yet."

"You are now." Pax firmly stated and pulled out a large bill from the wallet and held it up for the driver to see clearly.

The man's eyes lit at the sight of the bill and he turned back around in his seat. "Yes, sir. Train station."

He started the car a quick second later and slowly pulled away from the curb. Pax eyed the street behind them through the window and sighed relieved when he didn't see anyone fitting the E. H. Member appearance fallowing them. His relieve was gone the moment he turned his head and saw the cab driver staring at him through the rearview mirror.

"Where's your friend, the tall one?"

Pax felt his blood run cold inside his body and tried to think of something to say.

"He went home."

"Home, really?" Came the answer from the front of the car.

"Yeah, haven't seen him since."

"That's a shame."

The car turned violent around a corner and the movement through Josh right against Pax, his elbow painfully colliding with his stomach.

"Sorry." The blonde whispered.

Pax signaled he was fine and helped Josh slid back over to his seat.

"Did you boys enjoy your stay at Hostel?"

Pax eyed the driver coldly and cautiously moved his hand towards the backpack; he really didn't like where the conversation was going.

"It was fine." He replied numbly as his fingers pulled the bag's zipper down.

He could see one of the guns out of the corner of his eye and his fingers slowly crept towards it. Josh was watching him the entire time but much to Pax's amazement he didn't show any signs of his growing fear on his face.

"Well it must've have been enjoyable. There's lot of girls there."

His fingers wrapped around the gun's handle. "It was fine."

The scenery passed by them and soon a large building lined with bricks next to a set of rail tracks and Pax willed himself to keep calm; they were almost there.

"Really? Well that's good to hear."

The car turned off towards the station and pulled to a stop a moment later.

"Here we are." The driver said as he held his hand out.

Pax handed him the money as slung the bag's strap over his shoulder and opened the door, gently pulled Josh out with him.

"Enjoy the rest of your trip boys." The man called out as the door closed.

Pax glared at the car as it pulled away and waited until it was out of sight before he grabbed Josh's arm and pulled him towards the building's entrance. The air inside was cool and the sounds of voices quickly filled Pax's ears. His eyes roamed across the area and immediately spotted a ticket counter a few yards away.

With a gentle yank, he motioned for Josh to fallow him as he moved into the short line of people near the counter but a painful tightening of his stomach forced him to a halt. He was starving and beginning to feel lightheaded from the lack of energy in his body.

Concern light up Josh's face. "What's wrong?"

Pax raised his head and looked around the station's lobby and spied a small concession stand across the way from the ticket booth.

"Josh can you go over there and get us some food? I'm fucking starving."

The blonde blinked. "Um, okay. Like what?"

"I don't care, anything. Here." He handed Josh a few dollars and directed him towards the food stand.

"But what if something hap–"

"I'm right here Josh, you'll be in my sight the whole time."

The blonde looked reluctant for a moment but nodded. "Okay."

Pax gave him a grateful nod and watched as Josh walked across the lobby before he departed for the ticket line. Luckily there was only a few people in front of him and the line seamed to be moving quickly. He squinted his eyes as he tried to read the board on the wall hoping something would be departing soon. His only choices at the moment were Prague and Vienna.

(Prague's not far away enough so Vienna it is then.)

There was a set of footsteps behind him and over his shoulder Pax saw someone get in line behind him. The first thing Pax eyed was the man's clothing which turned out to be a long dark jacket with a loose pair of jeans with no black leather in sight and he relaxed somewhat.

The man shuffled impatiently behind him and Pax jumped when he cleared his throat loudly.

"Excuse me, do you have the time?" He asked, with voice holding a soft British ring to it. "Wissen Sie wie viel Uhr, das es ist?

Pax his turned his head in order to see the man's features more clearly. His face was framed with short, dirty blonde hair that was dark enough to be brown with a pair of green eyes that froze the American to the spot for a few moment.

"I'm not wearing a watch. Sorry."

The man stared at him, his eyes lingering on Pax's face for a few moments before he smiled politely. "Well thank you anyway. Sorry to trouble you."

Pax's eyes remained on the man's face for a half second before he turned his head away. He could've sworn he'd seen him before but where?

"Next in line please. Nächst."

He was quickly drawn out of his thoughts when he realized the teller was speaking to him and stepped forwards.

"Two for Vienna." He stated clearly, first in English then in German.

The teller, a girl who looked no older then sixteen, rang up the amount and took the many Pax held out as she handed him his tickets.

"Vielen Dank." Pax mumbled as he slid away from the counter.

He felt the man's eyes fallow him as he left and Pax resisted the urge to look back as he crossed the open lobby in search of Josh. He found the blonde a quick moment later, standing off the side of the food stand waiting him.

"They didn't have much so I just got these." He mumbled softly as he held out two wrapped sandwiches.

"Terrific, give me one."

The second Josh extended his arm, Pax snatched one of the sandwiches and tore the wrapper off, swallowing down a good portion of it before the blonde could blink. Josh watched his friend with a blank look on his face before he started nibbling on his own.

"So where are we going?"

Pax swallowed and cleared his throat. "Vienna, it's leaving soon and it puts some distance between them and us."

The blonde nodded and lowered his eyes slightly. "What about Oli?"

Pax was about to take another bit but froze.

"What about him?"

"It's not right leaving him here, what if they–"

"Josh, Oli's probably dead."

"You don't know that, what if he's just wandering around somewhere?"

"Because he's not Josh. He's dead, he ran off with that cunt that runs the front desk. Everyone at that fucking place works for those people."

"What about Natalia and Svetlana?"

Pax growled darkly when he heard the names. "Natalia was the reason I ended up in that fucking place."

Josh went silent and lowered his head and Pax swore he heard the blonde whimper slightly.

"She was the one that drugged me then."

Pax almost choked on the food in his mouth. "What?"

"That night when we were at the disco, the reason I left was because I started feeling sick right after she gave me a drink. She must've put something in it."

The blood ran cold inside of his body and Pax swallowed hard.

(This shit just keeps getting better and better.)

There was a large clock hanging over the lobby and Pax checked the time on it's face and the numbers written on the tickets.

"We should get moving, it's almost time for our train to arrive."

The blonde nodded numbly. "Okay."

They gathered up their things and headed towards the gates. Josh's hand reached for Pax's on the way and the dark haired boy allowed his thin fingers to wrap around his good hand as they climbed down the step stairs into the lower levels of the train station.


	11. Chapter 11

Whew, now that I'm done with Deathly Hallows it's time to get back to work. Thanks to Animegirl1129 for the beta. Much love to ya girl.

**Chapter 11**

A frightened cry tore from Paxton's mouth as he was grabbed from behind by two pairs of large arms and his anger and fear completely over took him as Natalia's laughter rang out in the darkness.

He screamed, fought and kicked as much as he could as the two large men drug him down the hall even though a part of him knew it was no use; these men were much larger and stronger then him. A loud, ear shattering scream reached his ears as he was drug past an open doorway and as he whipped his head towards it his eyes saw a masked figure cutting into someone's shoulder with a bone saw.

The air was filled with more screams and cries of pain as he was drug further down the grimy hall and the sights he witnessed only grew more horrid; a man tied to a chair and being beaten severally with a bat, another man getting his groin crushed by a pair of bolt cutters, a shaking figure getting his throat cut...

His fear peaked, sending every single nerve inside his body into a full state of panic and he doubled his struggling. He managed to land a kick into the thick leg of the man on his right but the monstrous figure didn't even stumble from the impact.

The men neared a door and despite the immense struggling and kicking from their captive, pulled the American inside a vacant room and handcuffed him to the room's lone chair. Pax groaned loudly as a large fist was thrust into his stomach and over the sounds of his wheezing he could hear the two men leave the room.

A small click sounded behind him and soon the room was thrown into a deep, suffocating darkness. He tugged on his cuffs and wiggled his arms disparity, hoping against all odds that he'd be able to wiggle himself free.

The floor rocked under his feet with a intense jolt and he found himself thrown up against an imaginary wall to his left. Through the heavy darkness he wasn't able to see anything but he sure as hell felt it when his shoulder crashed into something cold and solid.

With a groan he felt a heavy fog surround his head and before he could shake it off he felt the air around him shift violently.

---------------------

Pax jerked awake as the ground under his feet rocked heavily and his head bumped something hard. His heart was thudding loudly inside his chest and with a shaky intake of breath he opened his eyes and saw them reflected back at him by a thick glass window.

Endless green and yellow scenery lined the countryside on the window's other side and Pax watched it pass by as he sleepily rubbed his eyes, feeling his heart slowly starting to beat normally as his shaking body calmed down from his nightmare.

He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep; the last thing he remembered was sitting in this exact same spot keeping one eye on the passing countryside and the other on Josh. Upon thinking about the other American, Pax turned his head and moved his eyes towards the seat across from him. Like him, Josh had also fallen asleep from the motion of the trains movement with his long frame stretched out across the compartment's second seat. His eyes were lightly closed and Pax was relieved to see there was no movement under their shut lids; he honestly had no idea what he'd do if Josh had a nightmare or worse, if he started bellowing out what had happened to him again.

The floor rattled as the train pulled its self up a small hill and Pax rocked in his seat and was thrown against the window again. He righted himself with an angry grumble and kicked the railing lining the seat with his foot.

(Is it too much to ask to reach Vienna alive?)

When the cabin stopped rocking, Pax glanced over at Josh and was greatly surprised to see the blonde still asleep and shook his head.

(Josh could always sleep through an earthquake.)

He shook his head again and moved his eyes towards the compartment's glass door when he saw movement. A few shadows of people wandering up and down the aisle-way were cast on the wall outside of their compartment and after watching them for a few moments, Pax sighed and got to his feet. Even though a part of him knew he shouldn't be wandering in the open he didn't care at the moment. He was bored and if he stayed in the tiny compartment for much longer he was afraid he'd fall asleep again.

After taking a quick look over his shoulder at Josh as he slid the door open and wedged it closed behind him. The small hallway held a few people moving in and out of compartments but not in a large enough number for Pax to turn around and duck back into the small space behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder at the door behind him and after deciding Josh would be safe if he left him alone for a moment – he made sure to snag the one at the fair end of the train car so not many people would walk by it – he started down the small aisle.

He encountered a few people as he moved to the front of the car. The floor rocked under his feet once again and the small impact made him stumble and sent a passerby bumping into his shoulder.

"Bloody hell, sorry about that mate. Lost my footing." The man apologized roughly as he straightened his wrinkled clothing and then gave the American an intrigued look. "Oh, hello again."

Pax blinked and quickly ran his eyes over the man's face. He recognized the man almost instantly, it was the same man who stood behind him in the ticket line and the sudden feeling that bothered him the last time of seeing the man somewhere before tugged at his mind again.

"It- it's fine." Pax shrugged nervously.

"Fucking tosser needs to learn how to work this bloody thing. So, you're heading to Vienna then?" The man asked, his thick British accent giving off a sense of playfulness.

Pax eyed the Brit closely, wondering if he should answer truthfully or not.

"Um, yeah." He shrugged, deciding the man looked harmless enough. "Goin' there for some...fun."

He kicked himself mentally for sounding so fucking dumb when the man gave him a questioning look. Luckily for him, the Brit quickly broke into a smile.

"Fun, huh? Well, that's what youth is all about right?"

Pax heaved a deep relieved sigh in his head. "Right, that's what everyone tells me. Enjoy it while I can you know and–"

"_No thank you, I prefer to eat with my hands. I don't believe in using tools to eat meat–"_

A cold sensation tore through his entire body and Pax felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as a tiny, Dutch accented voice drifted into the hall from a nearby compartment.

(Oh, god, no, not him.)

The man standing in front of him gave him an odd look. "You alright, lad?"

The American ignored him and fearfully moved his eyes along the glass doors until they spotted a round head with thinning brown hair sitting two compartments away. His back was turned and even though his face wasn't visible, Pax knew who it was.

There was no mistaking it, that was the sick fucker that tortured Josh; the Dutchman.

"You still on our planet, lad?"

Pax jumped and jerked his head back towards the man in front of him. "Sorry, I- I gota go. Nice running into you again and all."

He quickly turned on his heel and started back down the isle towards his cabin. As he moved a short ways down he heard a soft clicking sound behind him and he glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the man snap his cell phone close and tuck it into a pocket. Without even making eye contact with the American, he turned and causally strolled away in the opposite direction.

Paxton watched him as he turned the corner and frowned slightly. He knew what that clicking sound was; the man had taken his picture on his phone. Before he could dwell on the thought further another more pressing one entered his mind; the sick Dutchman was on the train with them!

Without wasting another second, he sped towards their compartment and slammed the door closed behind him. He felt for a lock and cursed when he remembered there wasn't one and threw himself on his seat once again. That fucker was on the train, he was only a handful of compartments away from them, away from Josh.

His arm acted on its own accord, pulling his backpack into his lap and diving into it's belly in search for a weapon. He pulled out the knife and after tucking it into his jeans, he moved one of the handguns into one of the pack's side pocket, where it'd be easily reachable should he need it.

A soft moan sounded across from him and when he moved his head towards it, he was met with the sight of Josh's blue eyes staring at him sleepily.

"Pax, something wrong?" The blonde asked quietly when he noticed his friend's uneasiness.

His chest was no heaving painfully and the cold chill was still embedded into his body but he forced himself to speak.

"N-no. Everything's f-fine, Josh."

(Aside from the fact that your torturer is sitting less then a hundred feet away from us.)

The blonde gazed at him sleepily before leaning his head against the window and watched the countryside pass by. Pax's eyes were boring into the glass door on the opposite side of the compartment, hoping none of the moving shadows belonged to the tiny Dutchman.

(You're not going to touch him again you sick fuck.)

-----------------------

"_Welcome to Vienna. Heißen Sie willkommen nach Wien."_

The train jerked once again as it crept to a stop just outside of a dark-stoned station but Pax didn't rise from his seat just yet. The sounds of compartment doors sliding open and people talking in a variety of different tongues filled the air around him as the other passengers slowly filed out of the cars.

Josh eyed the groups of people outside their window and gave the darker-haired American a confused look.

"Aren't we getting off here?"

It took a few moments for his question to reach Pax and draw him out of his shaky trail of thought. "Yeah, just waiting a moment for the crowd to thin."

His voice was small and fearful, no matter how hard he tried to conceal it, and he tired to cover it up by clearing his throat.

"Uh, alright." Josh shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "Where we goin' after this?"

"I don't know. Hopefully we can find another train out of here and _soon_."

His voice cracked on the last word and Josh caught it.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He replied almost instantly.

Josh stared at him silently for a moment and then drew a knee close to his chest as he turned his head back towards the window. Pax eyed him the entire time and bit his lip. He knew what that gesture meant, Josh was nervous and after taking a moment to study his own behavior he could see why. Whenever he was afraid that meant Josh should be.

He took a long moment to compose himself and rose from his seat. Shadows loomed once again on the hallway outside their door and he waited for most of them to disappear before he pulled the glass back and stuck his head out into the isle. A few people were moving about the car but none of them were tiny with a thinning hairline so Pax felt it was safe enough to move.

He looked over at Josh and jerked his head. "Come on."

Josh grabbed their backpack from the seat and shrugged into it on his way to the door. After looking the car up and down once more, Pax slid the door all the way open and stepped into the small hallway. Josh trailed a short ways behind him, his eyes staring darting back and forth between the few people around them and the back of Pax's head as they approached the open mental door.

Before they jumped down the steps, Pax cautiously scanned the area with his eyes, making sure there was no sign of the tiny Dutchman before he hoped down on the ground and helped Josh down from the mental car.

He pulled the blonde into the crowd a moment later, hoping they'd blend in with the moving wall of people inside the packed station. He knew Josh was feeling more then confused by his actions but thankfully the blonde didn't speak on it and just let his friend move him through the hundreds of people lining the lobby.

Upon seeing that none of the moving bodies around them resembled the figure of Dutch man Pax felt himself relax slightly. Hopefully the man was already gone, hopefully boarded another train or exited the station. Hell maybe he was just seeing things, that could've been anyone on the train.

(But that voice...it sounded so much like him.)

They reached the top of the stairs a handful of seconds later and Pax's feet slowed to a stop. There he was. Through the crowd of people filling the lobby his eyes immediately noticed a short man with thin brown hair wading through the crowd several yards a head of them. His back was to them so he didn't even notice the pair of eyes burning into his back as he dispatched himself from the crowd and moved towards the hall leading towards the restrooms.

Pax watched him leave and a cold feeling settled inside of his stomach. There was the son of a bitch that raped Josh, there he was walking around like he hadn't a care in the world while Josh's grip on reality was completely shattered. There he was walking away...

His stomach coiled as something dark clawed away at his heart. No, there was no way in hell that fucker was going to walk away like that scot free. With a deep mental growl, Pax turned his head towards Josh. The blonde hadn't noticed his torturer standing less then fifty feet away from him and Pax was grateful for that.

"Josh can you go get some more food? I'm still hungry." He asked, trying hard to keep his voice even as he dug his wallet out for some cash.

The blonde accepted the money that was offered but gave him a confused look. "Where are you going?"

Pax pointed at the sign labeled 'Restrooms' a few feet away. "I'll be back in a few moments, okay."

"Okay."

He could easily see the nervousness in Josh's voice and he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"It's okay, I'll be back before you know it."

After giving Josh's shoulder a light squeeze he pointed out a food vender and branched off towards the restrooms, lightly rubbing his fingers across the switchblade in his front jean pocket. His other hand was still holding the wallet and he rummaged through it as he walked, pulling out the Elite Hunting card with Josh's name etched into it. He noticed the card with his name on it was missing but he forced that thought to the back of his mind as he neared the door with 'Male' written in German.

He cautiously looked the area around the door over as he pulled it open and when the coast was clear, he flipped the sign over on the door so that the bright green letters read 'closed' and closed the door after him.

----------------------

I have a character list for this story on my Journal, if anyone is interested I'll send ya the link.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the wait folks, I got suckered into another challenge a friend of mine started, movie smut (I already have my first submission on here for those of you who wanted to check it out) so I've been busy. I can't tell you how happy I am that this fandom is growing. Keep up the good work peps.

Big thanks to my girl Animegirl1129 for helping me finish this.

**Chapter 12**

The sounds of his footsteps were horribly loud inside the small tiled bathroom, but the heavy thumps his heart was making inside of his chest were what frightened Paxton the most. When he turned the small corner that lead to the stalls, he was gratefully relieved to see there was only one set of feet under the heavy plastic doors.

With a shaky hand he searched himself for his weapon and tightened his fingers around the switchblade's handle as he withdrew it from his pocket. He left both of the guns in the backpack with Josh and given a do over he would've refused them because a part of him knew he needed to keep this quiet and a gun isn't _quiet_. But it was quicker and the other part of him didn't want to leave Josh outside and alone for very long.

He silently crept closer to the stalls, fearing during every step that his target would hear the loud pounding of his heart and quietly opened the one next to the pair of feet. He could hear the sounds of light breathing and the soft squeaking of cloth rubbing against glass as he sat down on the toilet and nervously gripped the handle of the small knife. From this angle he couldn't tell if the man in the next stall was the Dutchman or not but a part of him – the darker, more primal part that had formed its self from the chaos and the pain of past few days – knew exactly who it was and wanted nothing more then to see that tiny, little perverted bastard bleed.

The toilet in the next stall flushed and when he heard movement, Pax reached back into his pocket and pulled out the Elite Hunting business card and with a sudden rush of calm air he slid the tiny white card under the gap in the plastic walls until it rested near the man's foot.

The feet turned until they were facing the card and a small, scratchy Dutch-accent voice echoed from the stall.

"Oh Jesus, you found him then?"

The voice sent a cold, piercing chill down Pax's spine and an even colder blanket of pure anger overtook him. With a twist of his thumb, the small sharp blade shot out of it's holder and the mere second he saw the man's fat fingers reach for the card his good arm shot outward.

His fingers curled around the man's hand, drawing a surprised yelp from the fucker as he pulled his arm into his own stall and held the man's struggling limb down with his knee. He raised the knife, the bright florescent lighting glittered off it's blade and after slamming the large hand against the tiled floor a few times, he brought it down to last few fingers of the man's left hand.

The blade pierced the skin, drawing both blood and an agonizing wail from his victim and in the dark part of his mind, Pax heard himself roar in triumphant and he sank the blade in deeper. The Dutchman screamed and tried to pull his arm back but the American's knee pinning his arm to the floor prevented it.

His screams grew louder when the blade touched the floor and completely severed the tiny nubs of flesh from the man's hand and Pax seized the opportunity to bolt to his feet and out of the stall as the Dutchman withdrew his wounded hand. He rounded on the second stall and kicked door open to revel the Dutchman clutching holding his wounded hand to his chest.

His head jerked up when the door opened and even without his glasses, the man's beady eyes were still able to recognize his attacker.

"You–"

Any further words where cut off as Pax's foot slammed into the man's round face. The Dutchman doubled over and fell on his side, inching slowly away from the American.

"No, no please–"

The American's fist slammed into his face before he could finish and sent him sprawling across the floor once again. Pax instantly rounded on him and grabbed the back of his head.

"Wait, wait, I'm not who you think I am–"

"I know damn well who the fuck you are!" Pax roared and snatched the small white card from the floor and held it in front of the bastard's face.

He turned the card over to the side with Josh's name written on it and the man eyed the card silently for a moment, temporally forgetting his bleeding hand as he carefully read the lettering.

"Oh yes, _him_." The Dutchman chuckled darkly, making Pax's blood boil more.

"You ruined his life you sick fucker!"

"Life? What life?" The man laughed loudly. "He was nothing more then a spoiled American brat like the rest of you backpackers are."

His response earned him a painful blow to the back of his head by the American's fist and Pax thoroughly enjoyed the slick thumping sound it made. The man swore painfully in Dutch as his head sagged forwards and to Pax's utter amazement, the air was filled with his dark laughter.

"Gonna kill me boy? Go ahead. It's easier then you think it is, it's almost _too _easy."

Pax froze momentarily and frowned. "I'm about to find out now, aren't I?"

The laughter only grew louder. "Then why don't you? I'm defenseless and bleeding severely."

Paxton narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the knife's hilt. The darker part of him was dying to sink the blade into the back of the fucker's head. He could almost picture the sick things this bastard did to Josh and he really didn't want to. The mere thought of his best friend in the hands of this demented monster...

The Dutchman sensed Pax's hesitation and turned his head as far as the American's hands would allow. "So tell me, is your friend still alive? That bitch sold him right out from under me so I wasn't able to _enjoy_ him for vary long."

"One more word you sick fuck–"

"Josh... so that's his name. Josh." The Dutchman rolled the name on his tongue a few times as he re-read the card in Pax's hand. "He wouldn't tell me his name no matter how many times I asked so I had to make one up for him."

"One more word you son of a bitch." Pax growled, his fingers tightening around the knife's hilt once again.

His anger was rising dangerously and he wondered if he'd be able to keep it at bay for much longer. The wounded Dutchman seamed to feel the American's tenseness and after emitting a pained sound as he cradled his hand, he decided to push the boy farther.

"He moaned like a little whore the entire time. He _enjoyed_ it."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Pax heard – rather then felt – the last of his resolve snap and with a loud growl he slammed the man's head against the stall's wall hard enough to hear the plastic crack. The man groaned as his bruised and bloodied head was pulled away from the wall and to Pax's utter amazement, he laughed once again.

"Feels good doesn't it?"

"I don't feel a thing." Pax said darkly and before the man could say another word, his right arm circled around the man's fat neck and with one quick flick of his wrist, the blade was jabbed inward.

The Dutchman wailed as the knife stabbed into the skin, piercing right into his windpipe. Blood poured out of the small gash and large globs dropped on Pax's gloved hand and with a wet, squishing sound, the American pulled the blade out, tearing the skin open even more.

The man's screams where immediately silenced and his body doubled over and hit the tiled floor with loud thump that seamed to echo forever inside the small room. Paxton eyed the motionless body for what honestly felt like years until he felt bile starting to work it's way up his throat and fearing that he would be sick, he bolted from the stall.

His feet slid on the tiled floor and his shoulder slammed painfully into the wall as he ran towards the door. A panicked yelp tore from his mouth and without even waiting for the pain to recede he threw the door open and rushed out into the crowed station.

A few people gave him an odd look as he shoved them out of the way and when he was a considerable distance away from the rest rooms he slumped over and tried to catch what was left of his breath. His hands shook violently as they rested on his knees and he could feel tears starting to form inside of his dry eyes.

(Oh fuck, fuck...what hell did I just do, fuck.)

He just killed another man, in cold blood this time. He just committed murder!

Tears were now falling down his cheeks and with a chocked sob, he whipped them on his sleeve and swallowed down the heavy weight of his sin. The numbness slowly faded from his fingers and only now did he realized he was still clutching the bloody knife. He twisted the blade back into it's holder and shoved the weapon into his pocket and straightened up.

He needed to find Josh and leave, now. His eyes moved across the area slowly, scanning just about every face in the crowd in search of the blonde and he found him a moment later near the ticket terminals and with unsteady feet, Pax moved across the station lobby to where Josh was waiting for him. Josh's eyes caught sight of him when he drew closer and Pax felt his rapid heart beat calm slightly. Funny how Josh usually had that effect on him.

"They didn't have much at the stand over there–" The blonde started and silently trailed off when his eyes got a better look at his friend's appearance. "What happened?"

"We need to leave."

Josh's eyes lit up fearfully. "Why? What happened? Jesus Pax, you're bleeding."

Pax blinked and looked himself over. The sleeve and cuff of his left arm had a few large bloodstains soaked into it along with his glove and he swallowed deeply.

"It's nothing, come on."

"Nothing, your bleeding–"

"It's from my hand alright. Now move." Pax growled and pulled Josh towards the ticket terminals and tried to bring the menu up. "Shit, why isn't this fucking thing working?"

He mashed the call button with his hand a few times and groaned when the key-panel refused to light up.

"Fucker, turn the fuck on."

"That's not gonna work, lad."

Pax jumped when he heard a deep voice behind him and turned to see the same blonde Englishman man from earlier standing a few feet away. Next to him, Josh also startled and inched closer until most of his frame was canceled behind Pax's shoulder. Paxton fallowed Josh's movements out of the corner of his eye for a moment and then cleared his throat.

"What do you mean, why isn't it working?"

The man held up his arm and pointed at the face of a silver Rolex wrapped around his wrist. "It's closing time. None of the trains are running."

"Fuck." Pax cursed quietly. "How come I can't get one for tomorrow morning then?"

"Because the station's closing for the week. Repairs and junk."

(Jesus Christ, what the fuck are we suppose to do now?)

"Fuck..." Pax sighed and after a moment a thought entered his forehead.

He eyed the man's watch coldly and frowned. If he was wearing a watch why did he even bother asking him for the time a short while ago? And then a more dire thought formed in his mind and he remembered the man snapping his picture on his phone!

Panic once again crawled up his spine but before his face could show any of it, Pax swallowed and nodded his head slightly. "Um, thanks."

"Don't mention it." The Englishman smiled and held out his hand. "Sean."

Pax eyed him and wearily shook his hand, thinking of a fake name to use during the process. "Oli. Strange how we keep running into each other huh?"

"Aye, strange indeed." The Englishman replied cheerily but neither one of the Americans were put at ease from his voice.

Josh shuffled nervously behind him and Pax had to fight the urge to turn and comfort the blonde.

"Well, see ya later then. Thanks." The American replied shakily and motioned for Josh to move.

"No worries, eh." The man said as he raised a hand and patted the American's shoulder roughly. "Hope to see ya around sometime again."

With that, he withdrew his arm and walked away just as calmly as before and when Pax caught a glimpse at the back of the man's head, he realized where he had seen him before; he was part of the group of men who chased them at the hospital. The blood ran cold inside of his veins once again and barley holding his gasp inward, he grabbed Josh's shoulder and pushed him in the direction of the station's main doors.

Josh was more then puzzled by his sudden change in behavior. "Where we going?"

"Anywhere but here." Pax growled. "That fucker was one of those assholes chasing us around the hospital."

Josh gave a frightened gasp and didn't say anything more as he clung to Pax's arm as they neared the main doors. Not knowing what else to do, Pax wiggled his arm free and wrapped it around Josh's shaking shoulders and risked a glance behind him.

The man had disappeared completely into the ongoing crowd and that frightened the American more then anything else.

-------------------

_"Feels good, doesn't it?"_

_"I don't feel a thing." _

A cookie to whoever can recognize what movie that dialog came from.

Here's a hint _"Just say four little words. I. Want. To. Die."  
_


	13. Chapter 13

Wow, I'm really happy this fandom is growing but seriously, 75 hits on my last chapter and 3 reviews. A gal can't help but feel a little hurt at that you lazy people.

**Chapter 13**

(Wow, Vienna's nicer then I thought.)

Even though he knew his eyes should be elsewhere – like on the crowed street in front of them or looking over his shoulder – Pax couldn't help but marvel at the wondrous scenery as it slowly passed them by.

His legs were starting to grow stiff from all the walking he was doing but he forced himself to ignore the discomfort and continue onwards; the farther they were from the train station and those fuckers the better.

"Can we rest soon?" Josh asked tiredly near his right.

Pax looked over his shoulder and scanned the heavy crowd of people behind them. "A few more blocks then we can."

The blonde groaned, but kept up his pace next to his friend's side. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Somewhere were those fuckers can't find us."

"Where?"

"I don't know where, okay? Just keep walking." Pax grumbled as they crossed the street and moved towards the adjoining one.

"Why? Why won't you fucking tell me anything?"

"Because."

"Because why?" Josh practically shouted.

Pax bit his lip in order to keep his growl silent. "Damn it, Josh, we don't have time for this, just keep walking."

The blonde's eyes narrowed slightly and Pax almost felt like he could touch the waves of frustration pouring off of him.

"Fine. You're still covered in blood by the way." Josh grumbled and turned away from him.

Pax eyed his sleeve and cursed when he saw the dried blood stains on it. They were fairly large and very noticeable so Pax wasted no time tearing his jacket off and shoved it under his arm as they walked onward. He was in the middle of debating weather or not he should remove his gloves seeing as how there were also large amounts of the Dutchman's blood on them when a soft metal jingle sound grabbed his attention.

He turned and saw a small metal pin lying on the sidewalk behind him and he bent down to pick it up. It was about the size of a quarter and weighted almost nothing in his hand and the most puzzling sight of all was the beeping red light near it's center; a transmitter.

(Fuck!)

His heart started beating painfully fast and Pax fearfully looked at the many people around them. That thing fell off his jacket and one of them could've easily stuck it on him. Josh had managed to get a few yards ahead of him during this process and upon realizing the other American wasn't following him, the blonde stopped.

"Pax?"

Pax snapped out of his trance and started over towards the blonde. "It's getting late; maybe we should find another inn or something."

"You're the boss." Josh mumbled grumpily and slowed to a stop near a crosswalk.

Pax's eyebrows curved into a frown, but he held back the angry comment biting away at his tongue. He could fully understand Josh's anger but there wasn't anything he could, or wanted to do in order to tame it. He wasn't ready to admit the fact that he just murdered his friend's torturer at the train station just a few short hours ago. And, if he had his say about it, he'd gladly take that secret to the grave.

After taking a few deep, calming breaths, Pax eyed the cars lining the street and found one where its driver was climbing into it and approached its rear. Just as the driver ducked his head to turn on the ignition, Pax tossed the small metal pin into the car's open window and glanced at the buildings lining the streets. His eyes caught sight of an inn on the corner of the street to his left but his hopes were soon dashed when he saw how large and populated the building was so he looked the streets up and down once more and sighed happily when he spied a second one. It was small and much less populated then its competition a full street away, so it felt somewhat safe.

"There, it's small and out of the way."

Josh eyed the building for a moment and then sighed. "Okay."

"Okay as in yes or–"

"You're the one calling the shots, Pax." Josh numbly replied, his hand tugging on his arm slightly. "It's up to you."

Pax bit his tongue once again in order to keep his comment silent. "Fine, let's go."

Josh didn't say anything more as they started down the street towards the small brick-lined building they would be staying at for the night. The Americans halted briefly as they neared the main door and as usual Pax glanced over his shoulder at Josh and felt a part of his chest tighten painfully when the blonde wouldn't even met his eye.

Feeling slightly rejected, Pax turned and pushed the door open. The lobby was plain looking, like the last inn they had stayed at in Slovakia with the exception of this one being much cleaner and the reception desk was manned by a young woman with shoulder length blonde hair.

She smiled politely as they neared the desk, her dark brown eyes shuffling between the two of them.

"Darf ich Ihnen helfen?"

"Ein Zimmer bitte." Pax mumbled and placed a wad of bills on the desk in front of them.

The receptionist smiled once again as she took the offered money and fetched a key for them under the desk.

"This is ze only room left I'm afraid. Down the hall." She replied in rough, broken English.

Pax eyed the small bronze key and took it with a shrug. "Thank you."

Her smile increased slightly as he moved away from the desk and signaled for Josh to follow him by poking his shoulder gently. As usual, Josh obeyed silently and followed the darker haired American down the long hall to the room marked on their key. He glanced over his shoulder as they turned a corner and frowned when he saw the woman was still eyeing the two of them closely and he hurriedly pulled Josh out of sight.

"What now?" Josh hissed silently.

Pax frowned and growled slightly. "Just come on already."

He was really getting tired of Josh's bitchiness and even though he knew the blonde had a good reason to be aggravated he knew he wouldn't be able to hold his tongue for much longer.

After spending a few minutes reading the numbers on the wooden doors, Pax found their room and unlocked the door with the small key. He held the door open for Josh and entered after him, almost immediately locking the door after him and wedging a nearby chair under the handle. The room was small but very well decorated with dark wooden furniture and was kept very clean. His enjoyment of the room's quaintness was soon shattered when he glanced into the small bedroom to his left and saw a large queen sized bed in the center of the room.

(Great, only one fucking bed.)

Josh was staring at the bed too and looked away with a puzzled look as well.

"Um, how are we–"

"You take the bed. I'm probably not going to sleep much anyway." Pax mumbled and sat down on the couch in the sitting area.

Josh fumbled with his hands for a moment before clearing his throat loudly. "What are we going to do now?"

"Get some rest, you were just complaining about being tired."

"No, what are we going to do after this? Where are we gonna go?" Josh's voice rose more after each word. "Are we just gonna run around forever or what?"

Pax was silent for a moment, letting Josh's questions fully sink in before he could think of an answer. "I dunno, Josh. I think the only place we'll ever be safe is back home in the states."

Josh looked down at the floor for a moment and then turned his eyes upwards a short time later. "Sure you don't want the bed?"

Deciding the subject change was for the better, Pax shook his head.

"No. You get some rest."

"'Kay." The blonde mumbled and retreated in the bedroom.

Paxton's eyes followed him until he was out of sight and then the American sighed slightly and adjusted himself into a more comfortable position on the couch.

It was going to be a long night.

---------------------------

After surfing through the TV's channels for what had to be the tenth time, Pax finally gave up and left the damn thing on some news station. He wasn't really interested in watching anything but he had hoped the background noise would help him sleep for a few minutes.

He stretched his legs along the length of the couch and curled on his side, his eyes focused blindly on the moving screen in front of him. He let his eyes drift closed as the TV bathed the room in a blue light and just as he felt himself start to nod off a shadow passed by his closed lids.

It took a few moments for him to will his eyes to open and when they did, the first thing they focused on was the back of Josh's head. The blonde was huddled on the floor near the couch gazing at the TV blankly and his eyes didn't even move when Pax pulled his legs back and sat up.

"Josh?" Pax yawned and was about to touch the blonde's shoulder when the blonde's voice halted him.

"Please don't touch me."

Pax withdrew his arm and let it fall back against the couch with a quiet thud. "You have another nightmare?"

Josh didn't say anything but the white marks on his arm and the half-moon shapes imbedded in the palm of his hands suggested a yes, so Pax didn't say anything else and joined the other American at staring at the TV screen. He watched Josh out of the corner of his eye, checking for any sign the blonde might start crying or worse but much to his amazement Josh just sat on the floor and kept his arms wrapped around his legs.

The normal tightness in his chest started to form as he stared at the blonde and with another yawn, Pax slid off the edge of the couch to the floor.

"Wanna talk about it or anything?"

Josh shook his head and even though he knew it was selfish, Pax couldn't help his mental sigh of relief.

"No. I just wanna sleep without remembering it."

Pax bit his lip slightly and looked back at the TV screen. He didn't know what to say to that honestly. True he could admit he finished off the Dutchman and hope that though would sooth Josh but the more selfish part of him – the part that had been winning most of these arguments so far – decided against it. He wasn't ready to admit being a murderer; he wasn't even ready to think about it.

Josh stiffened slightly and lowered his head onto his knee. "Pax, why did they do this to us?"

His question caught the other American off guard and Pax tried hard to think of an answer that wouldn't upset Josh or frighten him more.

"Because there are some really sick fucking people in this world Josh." He replied evenly and glanced down at his hand. "Some real fucked up people."

When he raised his head, he realized he wasn't the only one who was staring down at his hand and before he could pull it away, Josh's long fingers reached out and lightly grasped it. A shiver went down Pax's arm and up his back from Josh's touch.

"What did that?" He asked, motioning to Pax's missing fingers.

"A chainsaw." The darker haired American replied darkly.

Josh's blue eyes widened slightly and he gently let go of his hand. The loss of the contact made his arm feel extremely heavy and Pax slowly drew the limb close to his chest. Both men seamed to curl into themselves under the blue lighting of the TV and neither one of them feeling the need to say anything.

After a few minutes of silence, Pax pulled the cushions off the couch and settled them on the floor. He had a feeling neither one of them would move from the floor during the night to he tried to the make the hard wood as comfortable as he could. He offered one to Josh who took it silently with a nod of thanks but didn't move to place it anywhere. Instead the blonde waited until Pax was leaning against the couch half asleep and moved closer, curling his longer frame against his friend's.

Pax said nothing and just curled an arm around Josh's shoulder as he drifted off to sleep.

-------------------------

By morning, both men still retained their uneasy silence, Josh more so then himself, and with a yawn, Pax roamed his eyes over the small plates of baked goods in the inn's lobby.

None of the food really looked appetizing but never the less; Pax grabbed one of the paper bags and started shoving some muffins and bread rolls into it.

Josh watched him with an amused look. "You're gonna eat all of that?"

"No. We are."

Josh eyed the food once again and shook his head. "Nah, I prefer something that's cooked all the way."

"Me too, but beggars can't be choosers now can they?" Pax replied as he rolled the bag up. "Want something to drink?"

"Uh, no." Josh shook his head and sighed. "I'll meet ya back at the room."

Normally Pax would've argued but giving Josh's state of withdraw and the fact their room was only down the hall, he forced himself to nod, despite the nagging feeling inside his chest.

"'Kay, I'll be there in a bit."

Josh nodded and quietly made his way towards the long hall a few short feet away. Pax listened to his fading footsteps until they were gone and started grabbing anything that looked somewhat edible from the tables before he gathered up the bags and moved through the lobby. He passed the receptionist's desk as he neared the halls and the same blonde haired woman was still manning the desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Paxton." She smiled and waved as he passed by.

Pax gave her a nod and walked several feet down the hall before his brain processed something. She knew his name and he couldn't recall giving it to her! He looked over his shoulder and saw that she was still staring at him, expect by now her smile had turned darker.

(Josh!)

He sped up his pace until he was practically running down the long wooden hallway until he skidded to a stop in front of their room. The door was open a crack and cold, numbing fear brewed inside of his chest as he slowly pushed the door open.

His eyes bounced around the room until they saw blonde hair but the sight made him gasp loudly. A large man, dressed in heavy black leather and long blonde hair was standing in the middle of the sitting area with a large grin plastered on his face. One of his large arms was wrapped tightly under Josh's neck, the hand closed over the blonde's mouth while the twin was holding a gun to the American's head.

"We have been looking for you Mr. Paxton." The man said darkly.

--------------------

Oh the drama (Faints)


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry for the wait, this part was very hard to put into words.

**Chapter 14**

"We have been looking for you, Mr. Paxton."

The blood inside of Pax's body ran cold as he stared down the man in front of him. He remembered seeing him in the factory, just before he escaped and now that fucker was holding a gun to Josh's head.

A set of footsteps sounded behind him and before Pax could react, a pair of large arms grabbed his shoulders. The American yelped and tried desperately to fight off the hands that were grabbing his arms but it was no use, the man behind him was much larger and stronger then he was. His hands were forced outwards and a thick rope was wrapped around them a quick moment later.

"Now, now, be a good lad and we won't have to hurt ya... too much." The man behind him laughed darkly.

A large hand pushed him forwards and Pax stumbled and fell to the floor near the feet of the man holding Josh. His knee scraped against the floor painfully and his head bounced off the hard wood, forcing the American to release a groan.

"I have to admit, you two know how to hide." The man holding Josh mused happily, as he lowered the arm holding the gun.

"Aye." The one behind Paxton barked as he closed the door to the room.

Pax gingerly opened his eyes as he heard footsteps near him and he was rolled to his knees a moment later as the rough pair of hands ran up and down his sides. The heavy fingers grasped the gun in the back of his belt and pulled it free.

"Lookie here, ain't this Uri's gun?" The man next to Pax held up the sliver glock and handed it to the one holding Josh.

"Aye, that it is. Poor bastard."

The two men laughed as the one near Josh pocketed the gun and Pax took the opportunity to roll back onto his side, trying the best trick he knew to conceal the knife in the pocket of his jeans. It was the only weapon he had at the moment and there was no way in hell he was going to willingly give it up; not when it was all they had.

More footsteps echoed near his head and another large hand grabbed his shoulder and with a painfully jerk Pax was pulled to his knees by the large Russian behind him. He finally got his first look at the man, he was just as large as his partner was but with shorter blonde hair and dark eyes that roamed up and down Pax's frame with dark glint.

"Americans worth lots of money, no wonder why we are here."

Pax glared at him but his attention was soon diverted when he heard Josh's muffled whimper and saw the second man running his free hand down Josh's panting chest.

"Aye, Americans are the _best _quality."

His touch earned him another frightened whimper from the blonde as Josh squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from the stranger. A deep growl sounded across the room from the other American and the man withdrew his hand and laughed darkly.

"Your little friend apparently doesn't like someone else touching you, I see." The man mused and directed his gaze in Pax's direction. "Does he belong to you?"

Pax growled again. "You son of a bitch."

The man holding Josh grinned again and with a reluctant sigh he withdrew his free hand, using it to reach into his back pocket. He pulled out a thick strand of rope and wound it tightly around the blonde's hands, his smile only increasing as Josh struggled against him.

When the chore was finished, Josh was pushed roughly to the floor near Pax with a loud thud by the man's hand. The blonde let out a yelp and froze as the man stared at him for a short period of time before moving towards his fellow Elite Hunting member.

He shouted an order in Russian and the man behind Pax quietly left the room. In his friend's absence the large man with the long hair started moving around the room, examining the few possessions the Americans left in it. Seeing that their captor was distracted, Pax took the opportunity to slide closer to Josh.

"Are you okay?"

Josh gave a small nod, but didn't say anything. Distress and fear were embedded deep into the blonde's eyes and Pax didn't need to be a genius to understand why. His eyes glared hatefully at the man's back as the Elite Hunting member disappeared into the bedroom. Paxton watched until the man was out of sight before addressing the blonde again.

"Can you reach my back pocket?"

"I think so."

"Good, get my knife, quick."

He was glad he didn't have to tell the blonde twice, and he felt Josh's trembling fingers dig into his back pocket. He felt them grasp the handle of the switchblade and a short moment later, the blade was pulled free from the back of Paxton's jeans.

"Now what?"

Pax wiggled until he was facing Josh and used his fingers to grab the blade's hilt. Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside of the room and Pax used his fingers to shove the knife between the ropes around his arms, until it was hidden. Two men entered the room from the hall, the one in the lead was the same Russian who tied Pax's hand while the other was someone the two American's had never seen before but he wore the same black leather as the other men.

"Up." The first one ordered as he grabbed the neck of Pax's shirt and yanked the American to his feet.

Josh was also pulled to his feet by the second man whose eyes always roamed up and down the blonde's body with a lustful glint. Anger boiled inside of Pax's body from the sight but unless the man actually did anything he needed to keep himself under control and remain passive. There would only be a small handful of opportunities for them to get out of this and he couldn't afford to screw any of them up.

The man with the long ponytail entered the room a short time later, carrying the small backpack that contained Pax's other firearm and the rest of their money in his hand. He mumbled something in Russian to his partners and pointed towards the door.

The man behind Pax mumbled a reply and grabbed the ropes around the American's arm with one of his large hands.

"Walk."

He pulled hard and Pax was forced to follow the man as he was led from the room. He could hear Josh being ordered to do the same and a second set of footsteps entered the hall behind him and he couldn't stop himself from glancing over his shoulder. Josh was obviously terrified, his blue eyes wide and bouncing between the two men in front of him and his movement slow and shaky.

The group followed the hall into the lobby, which was still empty with the exception of the female receptionist who raised her head and smiled when one of the E.H. members approached her desk. The man with the ponytail mumbled a thank you in German as he handed her a small roll of bills, which she was more then happy to shove into her pocket.

Pax narrowed his eyes at her and she responded with a cruel smile and a wave. The American growled but he was quickly silenced by a hard shove as the man leading him moved forwards towards the front door. He bit his lip to keep himself silent as the heavy man in front of him led outside him into the bright morning sun.

There was a loud curse in Russian behind them and both Paxton and the E.H. member in front of him turned and looked back to see the second Russian trying in vain to pull Josh up from the ground.

"Get up." The man shouted as he reached down and grabbed the blonde's shoulder.

Josh struggled to his feet but fell again, aggravating his captors even more.

"Fucking American!"

A loud crack filled the air as the back of the man's hand struck Josh's cheek hard, sending the blonde crashing to the hard sidewalk. The sight sent a hot wave of anger through Paxton's blood and without even realizing what he was doing, he rushed forwards and slammed the heel of his foot into the large Russian. With another curse, the Elite Hunting member fell to the ground and Pax sent more kicks into the bastard's chest. He managed to land at least three solid blows before he was pulled backwards and thrown down by the other two Elite Hunting members.

"No bruises, goddamn it!" The one with the long hair yelled angrily as he pulled his fallen partner to his feet.

The Russian managed to get to his feet, eyeing Paxton darkly the whole time. "Fucking American cunt!"

Before his partners could stop him, the man lunged towards Pax with his fists drawn, intending to cripple the American for his actions when a loud bang pierced threw the calm, morning air. In a flash of red, Pax felt something wet hit his chest and the man doubled over onto the sidewalk.

(What the fuck!)

Pax's whole body shook and with a fearful gulp, he looked down at his shirt. He was covered with blood and he didn't need to look up in order to tell it came from the man who was now lying dead a few short feet away from him with a large gunshot wound in his head.

Another bang tore threw the air, fallowed by a loud snapping sound and Pax glanced up just in time to see a quick flash of a bullet strike the cement a few short feet away from the closest Elite Hunting member.

"Get down!" One of the men shouted behind him and Pax's brain finally processed what was going on; someone was shooting at them!

His heart started to pound loudly inside his chest and Pax quickly rolled to his feet and moved to the side of the hotel building, shielding himself in the corner of the building's walls. He saw a flash of light out of the corner of his eye and another bullet hit the building. The snap wasn't as loud as the other two, meaning the bullet hadn't hit anywhere close to him so Pax dared to raise his head.

Less then ten feet away the remaining E.H. members were huddled near the building's door, their heads rapidly moving left and right in search of their attacker but neither one finding the source of the shots. With a jolt, Pax realized Josh wasn't with them and he frantically scanned the area for the blonde.

He found him a heartbeat later next to the two men and Pax quickly summoned his nerve and dashed towards the blonde in a crouch. Another bang sounded in the air right after he moved and the bullet hit the wall a few short feet away from the American.

"Fuck." Pax shrieked and ducked back into his hiding spot.

The shot obviously came from somewhere near the street but the bullet holes weren't angled properly to be coming from street level. Pax felt his eyes move towards the multistory buildings the lined the street and saw a small flash of light reflect from the roof of the building across the street; a sniper.

The light flashed again and another shot was aimed at the building, this time right above the heads of the E.H. men. The Russian next to Josh bellowed out a frightened curse and accidentally pushed Josh forwards as he ducked, sending the blonde right out into the open area.

(No!)

In a panic, Pax eyed the buildings again, looking for the flash of the sniper but much to his relief he didn't see it.

"Josh!"

The blonde's head jerked up and Josh's eyes looked for the source of Pax's voice. With a wave of his arm, Pax got his attention and frantically motioned for the blonde to come to him. Josh crawled to his feet but before he could inch away, the Russian grabbed his leg and pulled him to the ground.

"You go no where, pretty!" The man growled and tried to pull the American back towards him.

With a yelp, Josh rolled onto his back and tried to force the man to release his leg with a kick but the center of his hand ripped open a moment later as a bullet went through it. With an earsplitting scream, the bloodied hand was withdrawn and Josh was able to get to his feet and run the short distance to his friend. His captor tried to pursue him, despite the terrible pain coming from his hand but he was forced back to the door as a bullet hit the wall a few feet shy of his head.

"Get down." Pax hissed as Josh came to him and used most of his bulkier frame to cover his friend.

Josh's entire body was shaking fearfully as the sound of more gunshots filled their ears while Pax's eyes kept moving back and forth between the buildings, looking for an escape route. He spied an old, metal door that had 'Fire Escape' written in German across its front.

"Josh come on." He tugged on the blonde's shirt and directed him towards the door.

The blonde fallowed close behind him, halting to a crouch as they neared the door.

"Fuck!"

The door was sealed with a padlock and a thick chain that Pax couldn't undo. With a loud yell, Pax kicked the door several times with his foot, hoping the impact would undo the lock. A small glint of light lit up the bricks by the door and upon recognizing the tell-tell sign of the sniper's movements, Pax grabbed Josh's shoulders and threw them both to the ground just as a bang sounded in the air.

A scream tore from Josh's mouth when he heard it and his fingers dug into Pax's shoulders painfully. After what felt like a handful of years, Pax opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of the padlock lying on the ground near his head with one of the sniper's bullets wedged in its center. As he eyed the broken lock, something clicked inside of the Pax's head and he glanced at the building across the street from them.

(First, he keeps me in this area, then he shoots the fucker who grabbed Josh and now he blasts off the lock... he's herding us.)

Hoping his theory was correct, Pax grabbed Josh's shirt and pulled the blonde up from the ground.

"Come on."

Josh swallowed and whipped his head around. "Are you kidding?"

"He's not aiming for us, that's our cue to go."

Confusion was still written across Josh's face but the blonde didn't have a chance to argue because a bullet hit the bricks less then a foot above the American's heads and making tiny bits of cement fall onto their shoulders. Without wasting another second, both men dashed towards the now open door and darted through it immediately after it was pulled open, reviling a small alleyway linked to the side of the hotel.

Once they were out of the sniper's range, Pax slowed to a stop and tried to force the knife from between his joined wrists. He sighed triumphantly when he was able to grasp the handle and with trembling fingers, he twisted the blade free.

(Yes! Come on.)

The silver blade cut threw the rope evenly and after shrugging out of his restraints, Pax also used it to cut Josh's arms free. The blonde's hands were trembling the whole time and Pax grasped them with his own in an attempt to comfort his friend.

"We need to keep going okay. Stay close to me."

"Kay." Josh nodded.

With a nod of his own, Pax pulled the other American to his feet and together they followed the small alley until they reached a small parking lot. Letting out another sigh of relief, Pax lead Josh towards the nearest car and tested the door handle. He let out a frustrated groan and moved to the one in the next space, a silver BMW. It was unlocked, making the American thank the heavens above as he waited for Josh to slid into the front seat before him.

"Keys are in the ignition." Josh mumbled.

"Good, that saves me the trouble of hot-wiring it." Pax replied as he slid into the driver's seat.

Movement in the rearview mirror caught his eye and Pax looked up just in time to see a black Mercedes pull into the parking lot.

"Shit!"

Josh whipped his head around and paled when he saw the black car. "What are we going to do?"

"Buckle up!" Pax growled as he shifted the car into gear.

The BMW's engine roared as it reversed out of the parking space and speed through the parking lot at the American's command. There was a squeal of tires behind them as the Mercedes followed suit and both cars slid out into the street with a scream of rubber. The BMW immediately recovered from the spin with an easy turn of the wheel, making Pax gape at the car's wonderful handling as it sped down the cobblestone street, which was thankfully empty at this time of the morning.

"They're still behind us." Josh mumbled, as he anchored himself to the dashboard in an effort to keep from being thrown around in his seat.

"I know, I know. Once we get off the main roads I can try to loose them– fuck!"

The Mercedes was right on their bumper and with a loud change of gears, the black car speed forwards and slammed into their rear. Both American's screamed and Pax fought against the steering wheel in order to keep the car on the road.

"Son of a bitch. Josh get down."

The blonde did as he was asked, huddling down in his seat as the black car rammed into them again. The BMW was thrown into a full spin this time but Pax didn't take his foot off the accelerator. He turned the wheel hard to his left and the silver car righted it's self enough to face the road once again.

There was movement to his left as the Mercedes moved into his view once again, forcing Pax to slam his foot down on the peddle to move the car quick enough to get out of it's range. Once both cars where on the road again, the BMW's engine rumbled with power and managed to pull a considerable distance between the opposing car without so much as a rattle.

"They're gaining on us." Josh mumbled in his seat.

Pax was about to agree with him when a loud rumble of a powerful engine reached his ears. The inside of his chest tightened as he glanced in the rear-view mirror just in time to see a third car pull onto the road behind the Mercedes, a black Ferrari.

"What the fuck?"

Josh raised his head and eyed the new car as well. The Ferrari tore up the road in a smooth pace, its engine thundering up a storm as it neared the Mercedes. Because of the distance Pax wasn't able to see through the black muscle car's windshield so there wasn't a way for him to tell if it belong to Elite Hunting or not but his question was answered not long afterwards when the window of the Ferrari's passenger side rolled down and Pax saw the all too familiar glint of light of the sniper's gun.

"Josh, down!" Pax shrieked and shoved Josh to the floor with his right arm as a loud bang echoed above all three car engines.

Paxton glanced up at the mirror again and saw a dark-haired man leaning out of the black muscle car's window holding a high-powered sniper riffle, its barrel aimed at the Mercedes' back tire. A loud snap later, the tire burst with an explosion of rubble but the sniper didn't stop there. More bullets were directed into the car's frame, forcing the Mercedes to slow its pace in an attempt to avoid the storm of bullets.

A final bullet pierced through the driver's window of the Mercedes and the black car spun violently and was thrown into a roll.

(What the fuck?)

Pax could only watch in confusion as the car behind him toppled off the side of the road and slammed into one of the side buildings. Satisfied with his work, the sniper pulled himself back into the Ferrari's interior and the Italian muscle car sped up with a loud roar. The American was too stunned by the events that had just unfolded that he didn't realize the car was catching up to them until the black monster's frame completely took up the rear-view mirror.

"Pax."

Josh's whimper was more then enough to make the other American jump to attention and his foot pressed down harder on the accelerator. The Ferrari matched their pace in a heartbeat, the black V8 roaring the entire time it moved to their flank.

(Shit.)

The black car pulled right along next to them, the silver sheen of the BMW's paint reflecting brightly off its jet-black body. Pax son found his eyes slowly moving towards the rolled down window, wanting to see the face of the sniper.

Petraki's eyes bore right into him through a pair of dark sunglasses and the man lowered his riffle with a sly grin. He slumped back in his seat, giving Pax a clear glance at the vehicle's driver; it was the same blonde Englishman who had been trailing them since the train station.

With a heavy rumble, the Ferrari changed gears and pulled a head of them, the black car soon becoming nothing more then a blip as it speed down the now deserted road.

(What the fuck is going on?)


	15. Chapter 15

I'm sorry for the long time between updates; I've been working really hard on another series. If anyone out there is thinking of buying the new Director's Cut of Hostel, DO IT! It comes with a new ending!

**Chapter 15**

(Come on, start!)

Pax grumbled a long string of swear words as he twisted the key in the ignition, hoping with every fiber of his being that the engine would turn over. It was long shot since the car had suffered much damage from the chase but Pax felt he really didn't have anything to lose seeing if it'd work since he and Josh were currently stranded on the side of some back road the BMW had managed to limp down before it gave up.

"Come on, start, start." The American growled, twisting the keys as hard as he could. "Come on – damn it!"

The engine still refused to turn over and Pax gave up with a deep groan. He nudged the car door open with his foot and stepped back out onto the paved road, his eyes looking darting back and forth in search for Josh. He quickly found the blonde leaning against the rear of the battered car.

"Looks like we're walking, piece of shit won't even fucking start." He sighed as he walked to the back of the car.

Josh nodded mutely, his eyes never leaving the ground. A quick glance downwards and Paxton saw his hands were shaking heavily on his lap, a sight that made the other American's chest tighten. Trying to keep his face as calm as possible, Pax placed his hand on Josh's shoulder, ignoring the small flutter in his stomach from the contact.

"Its gonna be okay Josh, we'll just find somewhere to hold up in the next town–"

"It's not going to be okay." The blonde suddenly mumbled out, rendering Paxton silent for a handful of seconds.

"Yeah, it will, we just need to keep going–"

"To where? They're gonna keep chasing use no matter where we go."

"That's why we need to get back home, Josh. They won't come after us in the states."

"How do you know?" Josh croaked sadly.

Pax took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself and not yell back a reply. He could understand Josh's feelings perfectly, after all he couldn't help letting all of the hopelessness of their situation settle inside of his already shaky mind but it wasn't like he had the option of dwelling on it. If he did, he knew he'd never be able to get them home in one piece or worse – in his frame of mind– he wouldn't be able to protect Josh.

His answer came in the form of a heavy sigh. "I don't know Josh, I honestly don't, but it's the best shot we've got at the moment. I don't know what else to do."

The blonde finally tore his gaze from the ground, his blue eyes roamed over Pax's face for what felt like a long stretch of time, making the other American squirm mentally from the feeling as his friend searched for some kind of answer.

"Where are we going then?" Josh asked softly.

Pax felt a small sigh of relief fill his throat. "First, we need to get to a town. We'll be safer once we're around people once again."

Josh nodded and slid off the rear of the car. "Guess, we're walking then."

Pax nodded and half mindedly moved back to the cabin of the car in search of their backpack and swore loudly when he didn't see it. "Fuck!"

Josh nervously moved around behind the car when he heard his friend's wail.

"What's wrong?"

"The fucking backpack is gone!"

Josh mentally flinched from Pax's tone. "What backpack?"

"The one that had all our money and the gun in it. Fuck!" Pax kicked the side of the car in anger and immediately regretted it afterwards as pain radiated from his foot.

(Wonderful idea genius!)

With a groan, Pax slid to the ground and cradled his throbbing foot. Josh's eyes stayed on him the entire time and he silently lowered to the ground next to his stressed friend. Paxton watched him out of the corner of his eye but that didn't stop him from jumping when he felt the blonde's hand touch his shoulder lightly. At first, he flinched from Josh's touch – mostly out of nerves then fear– but he felt his body relax into the small warmth not long afterwards.

"We'll be okay, right?" Josh asked softly, obviously trying to keep his voice even.

Pax stopped rubbing his sneaker and forced himself to look Josh in the eye, a habit that was slowly growing harder and harder to do these days due to all of the raw emotions held within those blue depths. It seemed like over a lifetime ago that they were so bright and full of life like Josh was before all of this happened; before that asshole got his hands on him.

"Yeah, we'll be okay."

It was a lie, flat out and he was too exhausted to believe it himself but it seamed to give Josh a tiny glimmer of hope and that was enough for him at the moment. They would be okay, he'd see to it. Josh was all he had now, the only person he could trust and deep down he hoped that Josh still trusted him after all that happened, that was if Josh was even capable of trusting another human being again.

With another sigh, Pax hauled himself to his feet shakily, his toes still throbbing. Josh reached out a hand to steady him but Pax lightly batted it away. He could stand on his own damned two feet.

"Let's get walking then."

--------------------------

"What are they doing?"

"Nothing." Petraki replied with a bored tone. "Still sitting 'round talking."

"Still?" The blonde sitting next to him huffed in annoyance. "Damn yanks talk too much."

"Tell me about it, Jim never shuts up." The darker haired man grunted, his sharp eyes never looking away from the small scope lens they were peering through.

With a gentle twist of his finger, the lens enhanced, showing a much clear and closer image of his two targets. His eyes first roamed over the figure of the blonde American, his eyes watching his movements closely – trying to spot any obvious sings of discomfort or injury – before he titled the rifle towards the second one. The darker haired male seemed to be the designated alpha of the two and he made a mental note to be cautious the next time he was in the American's presence; after all, he didn't want him to escape again.

He watched the two for another passing moment before he raised his head away from the rifle's lens. "This is pointless; they're here on the back roads, alone, so why the hell are we waiting?"

"Because Terry wants us to." The blonde Englishman answered, sounding just as bored as Petraki did.

"_Condénelo_." Petraki swore and accorded himself back against the barrel of his riffle. "Think they'll move faster if I sneak a bullet off?"

His partner gave him a warning look.

"No. Terry wants them to reach the next town in one piece–"

"They will–"

"And besides, this wonderful car you so hastily snatched earlier only has two bloody seats and no trunk."

His partner had a point and Petraki released a defeated sigh.

"Italians, you'd think they'd make a decent car one of these days– they're moving!"

His partner immediately jumped to attention. "About time, my damn leg's cramped."

Both men slid off the Ferrari's hood and made their way towards the cabin doors. Petraki kept one of his dark eyes fixed on the road and the two Americans several meters a head of him as he slid inside of the car's small cabin, keeping his rifle snugly in his lap. His partner slid into the driver's seat and the Italian muscle car came to life with a swift twist of his partner's key.

"We follow and don't engage unless something happens, got it?"

"Duh." Petraki groaned, annoyed. "Terry shouted it enough."

"And he's going to have a wonderful day when he hears about the little tag game you played with our boys in the last town."

"At least I actually did something to get them away from those _hijoputas_. Where the hell were you?"

The blonde shot him a look at he put the car into gear. "Who do you think left the keys in BMW Mr. Petraki?"

His smug statement earned him a growl from the darker haired man.

"Stop fucking calling me that! That bloody name is annoying."

"Then why did you pick it?"

"Cause it was open." The darker haired man grumbled in reply.

The blonde shook his head slightly. "Fine then, Remy."

"Sean." The other man snapped back as he reached into his front pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "You gonna take your boot off the brake anytime soon, they're half way down the road by now."

The blonde did so with an irritated look. "Remember, fallow and don't engage."

"I hear ya the first time." Remy replied as he leveled his riffle once again on the car's open window and fixed the scope on his two intended targets.

-------------------------

(This sucks ass.)

Pax hugged his arms tightly around his chest as a thick chill began to settle in the air. Since he and Josh were dressed in light clothing, it only took a few moments before goose bumps had formed several patterns along the length of his arms. He glanced to his right at Josh and saw that the blonde was also holding his arms close to his chest for warmth and without realizing it, Pax found himself moving closer towards the blonde.

Josh turned his head once Pax entered his vision; the panicked look in his blue eyes was enough to force Paxton to a brief halt. "Its okay, Josh, it's just me."

Carefully Pax held his arm out, hoping Josh would understand his intention. Thankfully, the blonde did and Josh hesitantly allowed Pax to slide his arm around his shoulder, drawing their bodies close for heat. The road felt hard underneath his feet as they walked and Pax risked a glance at the sky above them.

"We need to reach town before it gets dark, the cold is only going to get worse by then."

Josh huddled closer to him as another icy breeze blew down the dirt road. "Yeah, but what's gonna happen afterwards? You said we don't have any money."

"I'll think of something, don't–" Pax's assurance ended when the sound of a car engine starting reached his ears.

Confused, he looked over his shoulder and eyed the small silver BMW that looked no bigger then a pen cap from the distance. It was still sitting on the part of the road it had died on and there were no other cars in sight. Where was the noise coming from?

(I'm probably hearing things...)

With that, he dismissed the thought and turned his full attention back towards the shivering blonde huddled tightly against him and tried to ignore the warm feelings stirring inside of his chest from the contact.

--------------------------------

Just to be clear, yes Petraki and Remy are the same person. I hope I made that clear enough…


End file.
